Australia v The Three Lions – The Final Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates

They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a sea of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.

Out in the middle, however, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batters wore down the English attack, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more concerning their beaten opponents.

Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the concluding stages of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.

The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a engaging 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 average opponents but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction 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 show more restraint.

Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy 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 clobbered 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 pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long.

The blend of those phases, though, took him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are achievements, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused career there have been two peaks slowly approaching 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 ascended on Tuesday.

The current Ashes battle, possibly the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most one-eyed Pom could dispute.

It's been a victory of experience, maturity, discipline, ability and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired 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 final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shattered, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.