🔗 Share this article The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – The Final 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 time lost on the first day. The players are making final preparations to step onto the ground. Charity and Command on Display Events are handled superbly in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a ocean of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation. On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batsmen dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more concerning their defeated rivals. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one. Legendary Critique The famed Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a charming 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 build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against ordinary teams 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 pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in. A Baptism of Fire Almost an hour into a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his different deliveries. His first ball was full and wide and smashed 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 driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. 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 height 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 enduring for 20 years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has remained there. The blend of those phases, though, took him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are landmarks, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused career there have been two peaks drawing gradually closer in the mist. Donald Bradman's 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday. Preamble: A Forgone 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 fitting conclusion. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most biased Pom could argue with. It's been a triumph of experience, maturity, skill, ability and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge. The concluding chapter 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 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.
The action begins ahead of schedule again, 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 making final preparations to step onto the ground.
Charity and Command on Display Events are handled superbly in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a ocean of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation. On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batsmen dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more concerning their defeated rivals. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Legendary Critique The famed Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a charming 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 build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against ordinary teams 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 pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Baptism of Fire Almost an hour into a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his different deliveries. His first ball was full and wide and smashed 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 driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. 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 height 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 enduring for 20 years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has remained there. The blend of those phases, though, took him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are landmarks, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused career there have been two peaks drawing gradually closer in the mist. Donald Bradman's 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone 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 fitting conclusion. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most biased Pom could argue with. It's been a triumph of experience, maturity, skill, ability and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge. The concluding chapter 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 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.