Joe Root stood on the burning deck, whence all but he had fled. England’s beleaguered captain was defiant and the deck really was close to burning, for this was a day of record-breaking temperatures in Sydney.

The end of an arduous tour was in sight and while Root battled nobly, after doing his best to marshal his men during the 193 overs that they spent in the field he was short of allies. The situation was almost hopeless so perhaps there was less to worry about. Next week Eoin Morgan will be in charge and Root can revert to being the imp in the back of the bus once he has recovered from the exertions of the last two months.

Australia had a first innings lead of 303 when Steve Smith declared midway through a stifling afternoon. Both the Marsh brothers had registered centuries and the Australian bowlers had relaxed for two days in the dressing room. They were honed for the final assault and until Root bedded in they met with little resistance as Cook and the three new boys, who had surely never batted after so many hours frazzling in the sun, were sent packing for the last time in this Test series.

Mark Stoneman, who has promised so much in this series – rather like Michael Carberry four years ago – was stuck on the back foot and lbw to the long-striding Mitchell Starc. Then Nathan Lyon was introduced for the sixth over. His first ball fizzed past Alastair Cook’s outside edge; his fifth one spun just as viciously and clipped the top of off-stump. So this pitch was turning, after all. As predicted, facing Lyon was a rather more serious proposition than the three spinners used by England (not for the first time the desperate question – “Where’s Malan?” was provoked during Australia’s marathon first innings).

Vince settled and departed in time-honoured fashion, edging wearily to first slip off Pat Cummins. With his head bowed he meandered back to the old pavilion wondering when his next knock for England would be. Dawid Malan, being a left-hander, was also dismissed by Lyon. He was lbw on the back foot and reviewed just in case the ball had hit his bat just before his pad. It hadn’t. The next innovation for the modern cricketer – and they like innovating and practising all year round – has to be the ambidextrous batsman. Lyon’s record against left-handers in this series is remarkable; they average under 20 against him. By contrast right-handers average over 80. There being no Ted Dexters, England need ambidexters.

Out came Jonny Bairstow, less pumped up than in the first innings, and the two Yorkshiremen took England to 93-4 at the close. Root was unbeaten on 42 from 124 balls, none of which had been hit for six or four. He has never faced so many in Test cricket without a boundary. The captain was patient yet never passive. And he was quietly resolute, whatever the state of the series. No doubt he was tired as well, for he had spent the first half of the day in the torture chamber that was the SCG.

No doubt the television pictures revealed another lovely sunny day in Sydney. But, as we know, they can distort. It was reckoned to be 57 degrees in the middle of the pitch when the players were taking lunch, while in the suburb of Penrith, where Trevor Bayliss played his cricket, it was officially 47 degrees in the shade, the hottest on record and hotter than his current seat.

It was in these conditions after 157 overs in the field that Stuart Broad sought his 400th wicket and Mason Crane his second. Both sweated in vain as the Marsh brothers piled on the agony. Shaun soon posted his second century of the series and in the second hour Mitchell followed suit.

Mitchell’s century required 71 balls fewer than Shaun’s. It was brimful of powerful drives and capped a wonderfully productive summer for the Australian selectors. Three of their four debatable picks – the Marsh brothers and Tim Paine – have prospered and they stuck with Usman Khawaja and were justified. Only Cameron Bancroft has struggled after his hilarious start. The rest were automatic selections.

Perhaps the most entertaining element of Mitchell Marsh’s innings was when he was on 99 and cover drove the runs to reach his century. Having completed the first one the brothers turned for the second, but were so overcome by emotion that they embraced mid-wicket before remembering it was a good idea to complete that second run before celebrating further. They duly did so but next ball Marsh junior was bowled by Tom Curran; perhaps the delivery kept a little low, perhaps in his mind he was still celebrating his landmark.

Two more wickets fell before Australia declared on 649-7. Shaun Marsh was run out by a direct hit from Stoneman and Mitchell Starc holed out to give Moeen his fifth wicket of the tour. There were soon some ugly stats around. Moeen’s bowling average of 115 is the highest in any Test series for a bowler taking five wickets or more. No debutant has conceded more runs (193) than Mason Crane, and this was the third highest figure of runs conceded in an innings among Englishmen after Ian Botham and Ian Peebles. And the general consensus was that he did not bowl too badly, which is one of the advantages of making one’s debut as a 20 year old.