The Baggy Greens v England โ The Final Ashes Test, The Fourth Day: Live Updates
Play gets underway early once more, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are getting ready to step onto the ground.
Pink Tributes and Batting Might
Events are handled superbly in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batters wore down the English attack, dispelling any doubts about their drive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more concerning their defeated rivals.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smithโs 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the latter part of Travis Headโs explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful interview.
I've been let down by 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 ordinary teams but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball style it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Shortly after the start of a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his variations.
His first ball was wide and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A tough initiation, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
A Historic Achievement
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting skill, when โbest since Bradmanโ was used with assurance. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated 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 uncommon position on the third day. In the statistics 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 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are on course to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most biased Pom could contest.
It's been a success of maturity, maturity, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth hurt England 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 resume 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 comfort that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England failed to turn up โ 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 one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence shattered, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
