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

Events are handled superbly in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a ocean of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.

On the field of play, though, Australian generosity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters dominated the English bowling, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their beaten opponents.

Looking drained after the toil, 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 come after 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 sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.

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

I've been let down by England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to play a long 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 different ballgame. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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.

Almost an hour into a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his change-ups.

His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and cut 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 studious defense, to jeering shouts 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 skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has maintained that level.

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

The current Ashes battle, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are set to overwhelm 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, discipline, application, talent and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; 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 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 simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably craved 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 broken, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.