The controversial, uber confident, and occasionally short-fused, Australian captain has led from the front in a series that has tested him as a leader, bowler, batsman, diplomat and the modern face of Australian cricket.

He has dealt with criticism of his influence on player picks and tactics by the international sporting media, heavy sledging from an English side at a loss with how to handle his batting prowess and a succession of slights and injuries with more grace than many armchair experts ever thought he would be able to muster.

In addition to all of the above, the 28-year-old Smith has taken his batting to another level. He is now second only to the legendary "Don" Bradman in the definitive ICC Test batting rating.

Following his remarkable double century in the third Test in Perth, Smith is averaging 142 runs per match for the series.

That is a remarkable achievement, which reflects poorly on English captain Joe Root's failure to motivate and discipline his own side.

While Root has, quite justly, been slammed for his failures as a leader, Smith has proven to be the polar opposite.

His remarkable batting performance has, if anything, been overshadowed by the way he has rallied the Australians around him in order to control virtually every innings from beginning to end.

The Australian captain's ability to learn and grow, even during the course of a single innings, has been a joy to watch.

The naysayers who were quick to attack some of his decisions, including the failure to enforce the follow on in the second test in Adelaide, were left with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide when Australia wrapped up the series by taking the third test at the WACA.

While today's Boxing Day test and the fifth test, to begin in Sydney on January 4, are now dead letters given the English have already lost the Ashes, there will still be plenty of action and drama to keep the fans enthralled.

The big question is whether or not the English will stage a fighting finish or just go down in a heap.

Root, whose grip on the English captaincy must now be in some doubt given the team's lacklustre performance, must be hoping the former is the case.

Dawid Malan, the 30-year-old Middlesex lefthander who has been one of the few stand outs in the English team with a tally of 140 in the Perth test, is sounding far more like a leader at the moment than his boss.

"We need to be as aggressive with these [Australian] guys as they are with us," he said last week. "If you ever take your foot off the gas with these blokes they seem to really, really dominate".

That's top advice; but can the English pull it off?