The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – The Final Ashes Test, The Fourth Day: Action Unfolds

Australia knows how to host an event. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a ocean of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.

Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their defeated rivals.

Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the concluding stages of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.

The famed Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a delightful interview.

I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, nobody seems to want to build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.

It might work against lesser sides but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a completely different proposition. 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.

Shortly after the start of 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 different deliveries.

His first ball was full and wide and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump 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 negotiated with a show of concentrated care, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A tough initiation, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long.

The amalgamation of those phases, though, propelled him into a exceptional position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are achievements, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy 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 climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.

The latest Ashes series, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a suitable finale. Australia are set to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could argue with.

It's been a victory of know-how, maturity, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's seemingly relentless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will continue 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 ease that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.

The last rites will be administered 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 exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.