The Baggy Greens v England – The Final Ashes Test, The Fourth Day: Live Updates

They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage to the those affected and the emergency services 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 benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their beaten opponents.

Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the second half 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 ominous one.

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 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 enjoyment out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.

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 utilizing his different deliveries.

His first ball was wide and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump 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 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.

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets applied 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 maintained that level.

The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are achievements, then there are summits. 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.

The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.

It's been a victory of maturity, maturity, application, talent and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to mend; 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 start again on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable even before he faced his first ball.

Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to understand. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.

The concluding chapter will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence broken, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.