The Baggy Greens v England – The Final Ashes Test, The Fourth Day: Live Updates
It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to compensate for some of the overs lost on the first day. The athletes are getting ready to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
They do things well in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a ocean of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their motivation since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 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.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a engaging interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too reckless, nobody seems to want to build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against average opponents but when you get a class side 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 Bazball thing it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Tough Introduction
Almost an hour into 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 different deliveries.
His first ball was full and wide and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A tough initiation, 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 prowess, when “best since Bradman” 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 enduring for 20 years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are milestones, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy 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 surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is staggering to a appropriate end. Australia are poised to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of maturity, composure, discipline, ability and Travis Head. His daring 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 continue on 129 after making a century that looked unavoidable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably wanted 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 last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shattered, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
