🔗 Share this article Australia v England – Fifth Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates The action begins ahead of schedule again, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to make up some of the overs lost on the first day. The players are getting ready to begin play. Charity and Command on Display Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, dispelling any doubts about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more regarding their beaten opponents. Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one. Legendary Critique The famed Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a engaging interview. I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to play a long innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball style it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in. A Baptism of Fire Almost an hour into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his change-ups. His first ball was full and wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here. Joining the Pantheon There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has stayed as long. The combination of those phases, though, took him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric career there have been two peaks looming ever nearer in the mist. Donald Bradman's 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never conquer. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he surpassed on Tuesday. Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most partisan Pom could argue with. It's been a victory of experience, composure, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's surprisingly ruthless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will resume on 129 after making a century that looked certain even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge. The last rites will be conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are weary, their confidence shot, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
The action begins ahead of schedule again, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to make up some of the overs lost on the first day. The players are getting ready to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, dispelling any doubts about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more regarding their beaten opponents. Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
Legendary Critique The famed Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a engaging interview. I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to play a long innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball style it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Baptism of Fire Almost an hour into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his change-ups. His first ball was full and wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Joining the Pantheon There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has stayed as long. The combination of those phases, though, took him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric career there have been two peaks looming ever nearer in the mist. Donald Bradman's 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never conquer. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most partisan Pom could argue with. It's been a victory of experience, composure, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's surprisingly ruthless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will resume on 129 after making a century that looked certain even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge. The last rites will be conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are weary, their confidence shot, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.