Steve Smith’s unbeaten 80 helped guide Australia to a win in the first ODI of their series against England at Adelaide.

Despite Dawid Malan’s 134 in the England innings, Australia eased to victory as Smith’s half-century ensured that no momentum was lost in the chase after openers David Warner and Travis Head both fell after compiling brisk half-centuries.

For Smith, it was a welcome return to form after he endured a tough run of form in T20I cricket, often finding himself outside Australia’s first choice XI. Smith had not passed 35 in a competitive game in over two months in a span that consisted solely of a diet of T20 cricket.

There was one moment early in Smith’s innings that the batter particularly enjoyed. After hitting back-to-back boundaries off Olly Stone – the second of which was a sumptuous cover drive – footage showed Smith saying, “I’m back, baby” to his partner Warner. Smith has recently brought in minor technical changes to his game; CricViz data showed that in this innings he played the ball later than he had in any ODI innings he’d played in over two years.

Despite his recent barren run in T20Is, Smith’s recent ODI record is outstanding. Since the 2019 World Cup, Smith averages 66.13 at a strike rate of 93.05 in the format.

You can watch Smith’s exchange with Warner below:

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