Australia v England 2022/23

Watch: Steve Smith plays bizarre, tennis-style forehand smash for single to Chris Woakes bouncer

by Wisden Staff November 22, 2022 - 12:11pm 2 minute read

Watch: When Chris Woakes bowled a bouncer during the third ODI, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Steve Smith responded with a tennis forehand smash.

Australia had already taken a 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. Here, after Jos Buttler opted to bowl, David Warner (106 in 102) and Travis Head (152 in 130) blazed away to a 269-run opening stand at more than seven an over before Olly Stone (4-85) got both. Marcus Stoinis (12 in 15 balls) joined Steve Smith (21 in 16), and the pair continued with the onslaught.

Chris Woakes bowled the 42nd over the match. He bowled short of the length four times in a row, and all Stoinis and Smith could manage were three singles before Smith was beaten while trying to cut a ball that was too close to the off-stump for the shot. As Woakes ran in, Smith stepped out, presumably in an attempt to making Woakes alter the length.

Woakes responded by taking the pace off, sending the next ball down at a mere 107 kph. It was still short, and Smith, already down the crease, found himself in an awkward position. The lack of pace gave him ample time to adjust – but, given his position, he was not left with many options.

So Smith – a compatriot of Ash Barty, after all – opted for a shot that can only be described as a forehand tennis smash. In fact, he timed it well enough for long on to have to dive to his left to stop it. In the end, it yielded only a single.

Australia finished with 355-5 in 48 overs on either side of a rain break. Set 364 after a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern adjustment, England were 122-8 in 19.1 overs.