Birmingham: England finally saw the back of Steve Smith but only after a second century in his comeback Test saw Australia compile a potentially match-winning lead in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston Sunday.
Ashes-holders Australia, bidding to win their first Test series away to England in 18 years, were 356-5 at tea on the fourth day — 266 runs ahead — with the hosts a bowler down in the absence of James Anderson.
Smith made 142 following his 144 in the first innings of the match — the former Australia captain’s first Test since the end of a 12-month ban for his role in last year’s ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Matthew Wade, in his first Test for nearly two years, was 86 not out after putting on 126 for the fifth wicket with Smith.
Only three times have a side made more than 150 in the fourth innings to win a Test at Edgbaston. Smith is just the fifth Australia batsman to score a hundred in both innings of an Ashes Test, following Warren Bardsley (1909), Arthur Morris (1946/47), Steve Waugh (1997) and Matthew Hayden (2002/03).
Having reached lunch on 98 not out, Smith went to three figures in style when he cover-drove England paceman Stuart Broad for his 10th four in 147 balls faced.
Smith celebrated by removing his batting helmet and waving his bat joyously towards the Australia changing room. And while there was applause from a packed crowd, there were also renewed chants of “Crying on the telly, we saw you crying on the telly” in a reference to the emotional press conference Smith gave in Sydney after he was sent home from South Africa.
“When he goes out to bat, it’s almost like he’s in a trance-like state,” former Australia captain Waugh told Channel Nine. “He knows exactly what he’s trying to do, exactly what the opposition are trying to do… he analyses every ball and it’s like a computer, he spits out the answer,” added Waugh, now a mentor to the Australia squad.
England captain Joe Root brought himself on to bowl his part-time off-breaks and deployed Joe Denly’s occasional leg-spin in a desperate bid for wickets on a sluggish pitch.
Wicketkeeper Wade, playing as a specialist batsman, with Australia captain Tim Paine behind the stumps, reverse-swept Root to complete a 70-ball fifty. Wade was given out lbw to Broad by Wilson on 69 but his review showed the ball going over the top of the stumps. The new ball, however, did eventually give England the wicket they craved.
Brief scores: Australia 284 all out (Steve Smith 144, Broad 5/86) & Australia 231/4 (Steve Smith 142, Mathew Wade 86 not out, Ben Stokes 2/49) vs England 374 all out (Rory Burns 133, Nathan Lyon 3/112)
