The Ashes captains, Steve Smith and Ben Stokes, were so expressive on Tuesday at the Sydney Cricket Ground that they formed two poles drawing the onfield energy towards themselves. As everyone else flagged or failed and the contest trended towards the inevitable, Smith and Stokes maintained the competitive rage, a pair of vivid colourfast characters on a sun-faded canvas.

Stokes, let it be said, was towering in adversity. With the ball, he ran in like one of those Survivor contestants who, having burnt their last bridge, can rely only on their own self. His figures – 17 wicketless overs for 47 runs – won’t show it, but he was consistently England’s most dangerous bowler, passing the edge repeatedly and maintaining speeds at and around 140kmh throughout a sapping and dispiriting day. He did all of his work with the older ball, too, arguably putting self-sacrifice above strategic sense.

England’s bloopers were hardly Stokes’s fault. He didn’t drop the catches or bowl the long hops, and the three reviews were wasted thanks to his teammates’ opinions. When some of the miscreants glanced over their........

© Brisbane Times