Australia dominated Day 3 of the final Test of the 2025-26 Ashes and ended up with a lead of 134. Centuries from Travis Head and Steve Smith meant the hosts had the upper hand on a day on which England could take only five wickets.

Head, who ended up just nine short of his ton at Stumps on Day 2, brought it up in the sixth over of the day. The 72-run stand between nightwatcher Michael Neser and Head was broken by Brydon Carse to mark Smith's entry into the middle. Head departed for 163 off 166 after he was trapped LBW by Jacob Bethell shortly after the Tea interval.

Carse's second wicket of the day was that of veteran batter Usman Khawaja, who is playing his final international match. Smith reached his ton in the 110th over of the innings with a triple. He ended up unbeaten along with Beau Webster (42* off 58). The England players congratulated Smith as he walked off to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Top batting performance — Steve Smith

Smith extended his dominance at the SCG by compiling another classic Test knock. His innings was characterised by patience and technical mastery. He did not let the English bowlers settle and was smart in rotating the strike whenever necessary.

Carse, although relatively on the expensive side as compared to his teammates, was the pick of the bowlers. All three of Carse's wickets came on Day 3. His match figures up until now read 3/108 in 23 overs.

• Head registered his first Test ton at the SCG.
• Head joined a prestigious list of cricketers by scoring Test hundreds at seven different venues in Australia.
• Head entered an elite list of Australian cricketers to have scored three tons in an Ashes series.
• Smith registered his 37th Test ton, overtaking Rahul Dravid's tally of 36.