It came at 16:15 in the afternoon. A bob of the knees, a familiar waft of limbs as though controlled by a puppeteer and a single pushed into the off side. No-one seemed to notice the significance - the England fans kept singing their songs and the rest were quiet in the steamy Sydney sunshine - but Steve Smith's 84th run in the fifth Ashes Test was his 3,637th against England. It took him one clear of England great Jack Hobbs. Now only the legendary Sir Donald Bradman stands ahead of Smith in terms of Ashes run-scorers.

"He is a special player," said former England captain Michael Vaughan. "When quality players know pitches are in their favour they make it count. Joe Root, Travis Head and now Steve Smith." Smith, who said he did not know about the landmarks, has seen it all in Ashes cricket and this 129 not out in Australia's 518-7 appears to have taken the Test away from England. It may end an era too. The 36-year-old and Usman Khawaja are the only survivors from the 2010-11 contest, when England last won the Ashes down under.

In Perth, off the bowling of Steven Finn, he scored his first Ashes run with a flick off the pads. How often have we seen that shot since? Smith was part of Australia's Mitchell Johnson-inspired win in 2013-14, before producing his own series for the ages with 687 runs including three centuries and two further fifties as captain four years later. There have also been two defeats in England and two draws, in addition to two more wins down under. Since chirping at Monty Panesar before the contest had even begun, Smith has been quiet across the past six weeks... but this is the Ashes. Scoring centuries against the old enemy is what Smith does. At the last he frustrated England one more time.

While celebrating his 13th Ashes century, he waved his bat towards the England fans who sledged him from the series' start. Again, it took him clear of Hobbs, who made 12 tons between 1908 and 1930 and only The Don sits ahead here too. In Australia they call Smith the greatest since Bradman. Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh may still have more runs in a baggy green, but it is hard to argue.

"To throw balls to him was the most humiliating experience ever," said his former coach Justin Langer on TNT Sports. "It was like throwing against a brick wall. It was impossible." Smith's fifth Test ton in Sydney, where he grew up and where he splits his time with his home in New York, took his average at this famous ground to 72.05. "I just love batting here," he said. "Obviously it's my home deck. I know the ground really well. When I get in here I really like batting here. The pace of the wicket really suits the way I play."

If Smith's recent lull has been unnerving, this knock featured all of his trademark quirks. He stopped the game whenever a spectator sneezed within shouting distance of the sightscreen and twice he ended up flat on his back - once with his hands, feet and bat positioned above his head. The rest of Sydney - crisp, pristine and dashed with pink - watched on as Smith eventually waved his bat with his shirt caked in dirt. For one so great, Smith somehow manages to look ugly.

At another point, Smith berated himself for failing to hit part-time spinner Jacob Bethell for four. "Ah Steve," he said. "That's awful, absolute throwdown." He showed Matthew Potts similar disdain when attempting to replicate Lleyton Hewitt's forehand smash to a bouncer in the final hour. In Potts' next over he took it upon himself to hold his arms wide to signal a wide. Smith - so often the butt of the jokes - has never seemed bothered about gaining the love of England fans.

"I don't know I am doing it," he said. "When I am doing all of those things it probably means I am in a good zone." "You won't see it in the textbook the way he plays," added former Australia batter Mark Waugh. "It has been a funny innings that has ebbed and flowed. At times frantic, then he looked like he was struggling to concentrate and got himself going. Talking to himself, gesturing, rolling on his back and stopping people at the top of the grandstands. He has got the job done."

Bradman's 5,028 Ashes runs and 19 centuries are surely beyond Smith but, though we know Khawaja's career will end at the conclusion of this Test, further English pain dealt by the New South Welshman cannot be ruled out. "He prides himself on his batting ability but also his leadership," said fellow centurion Travis Head. "That's also a motivation to continue. While he's enjoying it, he will hang around. I hope he's here for a long time."

When he walked off at The Oval on the final day of the 2023 Ashes, it felt like a goodbye. Smith has offered no such certainty. "It's a shame he's [Khawaja] gone, now I'm the oldest one here," Smith said before this Test. "I want to keep playing, I'm still enjoying it. We've got a really good team. I've said for a while I'm taking it day by day, series by series and we'll see where things land. I feel like I'm doing alright at the moment, I'm contributing and having fun so there's no real end date for me."

He may no longer be the relentless run-scorer of that 2017-18 series but with his latest Sydney showpiece, Smith showed he is not done frustrating England yet.