The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – Fifth Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates

They do things well in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a fitting tribute to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, 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.

Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more concerning their beaten opponents.

Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the concluding stages of Travis Head’s sizzling 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 daunting one.

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

I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, 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 class side like Australia it's a different ballgame. 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 thing it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.

Forty-five minutes 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 outside off stump and cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of studious defense, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to get involved. 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 prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets applied 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 maintained that level.

The combination of those phases, though, took him to a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are landmarks, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy 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 overtook on Tuesday.

The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is staggering to a suitable finale. Australia are on course to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could contest.

It's been a victory of know-how, maturity, application, talent and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to mend; 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 resume on 129 after making a century that looked certain even before he faced his first ball.

Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to understand. 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 final act will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence broken, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.