🔗 Share this article The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – The Final Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The players are preparing to step onto the ground. Pink Tributes and Batting Might Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation. Between the wickets, however, Australian charity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters dominated the English bowling, dispelling any doubts about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their defeated rivals. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the concluding stages of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one. A Cricketing Icon's Opinion The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful interview. I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against lesser sides but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in. A Baptism of Fire Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his different deliveries. His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of studious defense, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here. Scaling the Ashes Mountain There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused career there have been two peaks slowly approaching 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 overtook on Tuesday. Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could dispute. It's been a triumph of experience, maturity, skill, ability and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will start again on 129 after making a century that looked certain even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge. The final act will be delivered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the final innings 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.
It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The players are preparing to step onto the ground.
Pink Tributes and Batting Might Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation. Between the wickets, however, Australian charity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters dominated the English bowling, dispelling any doubts about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their defeated rivals. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the concluding stages of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful interview. I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against lesser sides but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Baptism of Fire Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his different deliveries. His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of studious defense, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Scaling the Ashes Mountain There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused career there have been two peaks slowly approaching 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 overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could dispute. It's been a triumph of experience, maturity, skill, ability and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will start again on 129 after making a century that looked certain even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge. The final act will be delivered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the final innings 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.