(ESPNCRICINFO) – TRAVIS Head departed the SCG field to a thunderous ovation after his latest demolition of England in this Ashes series. But the roars from the terraces soon deafened when Usman Khawaja walked to the crease in his final Test match.
After Head’s belligerent 163 off 166 balls, his third century in what has been a remarkable series, Khawaja – batting at No.6 – could not produce a fairytale innings against a flagging England attack in the Sydney sunshine.
In what might prove to be his final Test innings, Khawaja fell for 17 in an ungainly dismissal – a low full-toss from Brydon Carse – and left the ground to more hearty applause.
Skipper Steven Smith then stole the show for the remainder of day three with an unbeaten 129 off 205 balls to put Australia in a commanding position as they seek a convincing 4-1 series victory.
Australia appear to have broken England’s spirit in an innings stretching 124 overs. Their first-innings lead has ballooned to 134 runs and looks particularly significant with uneven bounce becoming notable and cracks set to widen amid warm weather in Sydney.
Smith wasn’t at his most fluent, but looked locked in from the get go with his usual theatrics at the crease on full display. He even at one point asked Carse at mid-off to put his sunglasses on the back of his hat due to the reflection.
Smith feasted on wayward England bowling and also made a point to be aggressive against spinners Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell. A 37th Test century and 13th against England almost felt inevitable as he ended a relatively lean series in style, kissing his helmet in celebration late in the day.
Smith moved into second all-time on the Ashes run-scorers and century list, with only Sir Donald Bradman ahead on both fronts.
His first home Ashes hundred since the 2017-18 series has tightened Australia’s grip on the match. They were aided by shabby bowling and fielding from England, who dropped four catches in the first session with Smith being reprieved on 12 by Zak Crawley at leg-slip just before lunch.
The early part of the day was dominated by Head, who had only just fallen short of scoring a century in an elongated final session on day two, but it didn’t take him long to reach his 12th Test ton.
After resuming on 91, Head completed his 105-ball century just 25 minutes into the day’s play and he celebrated by sticking his helmet on top of his bat handle as he once again had the crowd in the palm of his hands.
It ended Head’s modest record at the SCG as he became the fifth player to score tons at seven different venues in Australia.
Head received strong support from Michael Neser, who was used wisely as the nightwatcher ahead of Scott Boland after the latter performed the role in the previous Test.
Neser showed off his batting credentials, having made 4000 career runs in first-class cricket with five centuries. He frustrated England with solid defence and the occasional boundary to grind down the beleaguered tourists.
Head continued his rampant form from the previous afternoon when he inflicted more pain on hapless seamer Matthew Potts, whose Ashes debut has turned into a nightmare.
A new day did not bring an improved showing with Potts immediately smashed for three consecutive fours by a ruthless Head. England continued to persist with short-ball plans, even to Neser, and it almost paid off when Head skied Carse to deep midwicket only for Jacks to drop a sitter, taking his eyes off the ball as he was seemingly worried about the nearby boundary cushion.
