🔗 Share this article

The cricketers are preparing to step onto the pitch for an extended first session that will last two and a half hours. If Travis Head is batting at lunch, Australia will be strapped into the box seat.

A Pink Outpouring of Support

It’s Jane McGrath Day at the SCG, with everybody wearing pink in solidarity with the McGrath Foundation. The day honors the charity's dedication to offering support for cancer patients.

A fan dressed in all pink arrives at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

A Heated Exchange Mars the Evening

It was hard to know whether it was a message to Australia or his own bowlers. Ben Stokes signed off a annoying day's end in Sydney by swapping words out in the middle with Marnus Labuschagne. Appearing to respond to a comment by Labuschagne, Stokes was audibly telling “shut the fuck up” as the over concluded. He then walked over and put an arm around his opponent’s shoulder to continue the exchange.

With the officials intervening, the England skipper departed after giving Labuschagne a squeeze. Under ICC regulations, Stokes potentially faces sanction for making improper physical contact.

Questions Over Australia's Bowling Tactics

When Shane Warne called his biography No Spin, it wasn’t a recommendation. It's presumptuous to speak for the deceased, but his record in life was loud and clear in supporting fellow spinners. Sides should always retain a spin bowling option was his frequent argument.

Loyalty to a bowling type isn't the sole consideration. Former pace colleague Jason Gillespie had the same view observing the Sydney Test. “You need that variety,” he stated during commentary.

The hosts lacked that option. Their attack featured a trio of pace specialists, a couple of curiously employed all-rounders and a sprinkle of part-time guff. They permitted England's batting to accelerate, with substantial partnerships while Joe Root compiled his highest score in Australia of 160 and England their best total in the Ashes, 384.

It would have been helpful to turn to specialist spin when Root and Harry Brook were settling in. It would have been helpful to save Mitchell Starc from bowling a fourth spell.

Setting the Scene for Day Three

Greetings and welcome to our updates of the third day's play in Sydney. There’s a big first session coming, yet one cannot ignore the end-of-term feeling that has pervaded this Test so far.

We’re used to anticlimactic final Tests, particularly when England play in Australia. This feels flatter than the rest, largely due to the pre-series hype. Two inconsequential matches? It’s not what we thought when we were imagining the 2025-26 Ashes.

The stakes are further reduced of a potential whitewash; the series will end either 4-1 or 3-2 to Australia. At this moment, a 4-1 scoreline appears probable. A poor bowling performance from England let Australia race to 166 for two, trailing by 218 runs, in only 34.1 overs. Travis Head is 91 not out from 87 balls; the nightwatchman Michael Neser has 1 from 15.

Neser was struck nastily on the elbow just before the close, a reminder that this pitch – though largely good for batting – is on the capricious side. If England, particularly Matthew Potts, find their length this morning they can force their way back into the game.

In the context of the match, the morning's play is vital. It’s just that the match isn’t as big as we hoped.