England’s horrific Ashes tour is lurching towards a final defeat after a remorseless Steve Smith century followed Travis Head’s spectacular 163 on the third day of the fifth Test.
On a day to rival any of England’s ineptitude from the previous seven weeks, both Head and Smith were dropped in a calamitous opening session in Sydney.
Smith went on to make an unbeaten 129, in doing so passing England legend Jack Hobbs to go second on the all-time list of Ashes run-scorers, behind only Australian great Donald Bradman.
At the end of it all, Australia reached 518-7, leading by 134 and on course to complete their Ashes triumph with a 4-1 scoreline.
The Sydney Cricket Ground turned pink for the Jane McGrath Foundation and the travelling supporters sang constantly through the afternoon, all while England were slow-roasted.
Will Jacks was the culprit for the Head drop and Zak Crawley put down Smith. In total, England have missed 17 chances of varying difficulty across the series.
Captain Ben Stokes bowled himself into the ground in an attempt to mask the deficiencies of new-ball pair Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse.
Perhaps the only saving grace was England’s batters did not have to face a tricky session late in the day.
When they do come to bat, it will take a remarkable rearguard to avoid a fourth defeat of a desperately disappointing series.
Floundering finale hastens Ashes consequences
Even after England surrendered the Ashes inside three Tests, all of Stokes, head coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key insisted they wanted to remain in their posts.
A 3-2 margin might make that more possible, but a 4-1 scoreline would certainly bring McCullum and Key into sharper focus, especially after such a dispiriting Tuesday in Sydney.
England were well in the contest at the beginning of the day – Australia were 218 behind on 166-2. By the end, the hosts’ lead was significant, yet even that does not reflect quite how strongly Australia bossed proceedings throughout.
The morning session, when Potts was flayed by Head and the catches went down was a throwback to the great England wheels-off Ashes horror shows.
Somehow, England must regroup overnight to find some fight with the bat when Smith eventually allows them to begin their second innings.
It is perfectly plausible that this match, the series, and the Bazball regime are ended on Wednesday. (BBC)
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