Australia were there for the taking but Brendon McCullum’s tourists were so poor and ill-prepared they never got close

As far as endings go, it ended nicely. People streamed on to the Sydney Cricket Ground, wanting to get close to the trophy presentation and to have a canter on the turf. Nothing thrills an audience more than a chance to walk the stage. On a sun-kissed blue-heaven day, the match had finished early enough to leave plenty of afternoon to spare. Later Usman Khawaja soaked that up with his own crowd of family and friends, on his last day as a Test player.

These endings are supposed to signal the close of something momentous. Another Ashes wrapped up, another chapter in the rivalry written. Still, once it was done, the whole thing felt like it had been more hole than doughnut.

The great Australian batter was typically twitchy before passing his latest personal milestone in Sydney

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated 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 stayed as long. Smith was untouchable for six years before returning to the realm of the merely very good.

The combination of those phases, though, took him to a rare position on the third day of the fifth Test in Sydney. In the statistics of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith’s Ashes-heavy career there have been two peaks gradually drawing closer in the mist. Donald Bradman’s 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never climb. Jack Hobbs’s 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.

Playing without a spinner is one thing, but Webster and Green are only good enough to be the fifth bowler

In the end, it was a relief. Not to say that a lot of Australians would exactly have been tuning into the Sydney Ashes Test hoping to hear that England were doing well, but at least seeing a couple of sessions yield a score of 211 for three felt normal. The run rate was trending towards the adventurous, but it was a day within the accepted frame, and that is a template that not many days in this series have been able to match.

In the context of this current England team, a fast opening stand of 35 from 40 balls was normal. The wickets of both openers in quick succession to follow was normal. When first drop Jacob Bethell nicked off on 10 though, having looked in excellent early touch both defensively and in attack, the score of 57 for three put a little tremor through onlookers.