• Fifth Ashes Test; day three: England 384. Australia 518-7

• Host captain on 129 not out following Head’s 163 from 166

They do things well here in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.

Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batters ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their beaten opponents.

• Fifth Ashes Test; day two: England 384. Australia 166-2

• Root makes 160 but hosts reduce lead to 218

The Richies were out in force on an eventful second day, an entire block of supporters decked out in either cream, bone, white, off-white, ivory or beige. Bathed in sunshine, flags fluttering over the two heritage-listed pavilions, the backdrop for Joe Root’s 41st Test hundred was absolutely marvellous.

This has not been the case for Root in Sydney over the years. In 2014, the SCG witnessed the only time he has been dropped by England. In 2018, he made scores of 83 and 58 not out but ended up on a drip due to extreme heat, his side having crumbled to a 4-0 series defeat. Four years later, came a duck and 24, England saving the Test to dodge the whitewash, but his captaincy long since sunk.