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

They do things well 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 atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a ocean of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.

Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their vanquished foes.

Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 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 engaging interview.

I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they handle 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 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 style it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.

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

His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of furrowed caution, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. A tough initiation, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description 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 hit their peak for a time, no other has remained there.

The amalgamation of those phases, though, took him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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.

The latest Ashes series, perhaps the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are poised to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most one-eyed Pom could argue with.

It's been a victory of experience, maturity, application, talent 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 deceptively pitiless 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 inevitable 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 comprehend. 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 desired a greater challenge.

The concluding chapter will be conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout 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.