Billy Remmington touches on the greatness of Steve Smith, after the Australia man notched his second century of the match in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
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It has taken just three and a half days of red-ball cricket for Steve Smith to re-affirm his status as Test cricket’s most relentless run-scorer since Sir Donald Bradman.
After his absence, any lingering doubts that that status might have been unjustified were quashed. Calls of Kohli go heard but not always heeded, but there is surely now little ambiguity as to who is the best five-day batter in world cricket. The reluctance amongst some to crown someone who was banned for bringing the game into disrepute does exist, but this match has solidified Smith as one of the most devastatingly effective Test batsman ever to have carved a career in the game.
Steve Smith’s last six Ashes scores:
239
76
102*
83
144
142Good, good player#Ashes pic.twitter.com/RpQnd3DiUu
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 4, 2019
Having put England to the sword with two stunning centuries at Edgbaston, Australia’s once-golden boy could barely have conjured a more emphatic return to the Test arena. He’s the first batsmen to score twin Ashes tons since Matthew Hayden in 2002, and with six hundreds in his last ten Ashes innings, only Bradman has recorded a more fruitful sequence, with seven centuries in as many matches either side of the Second World War.
Smith’s feats are potently Bradman-esque, virtually unprecedented in the modern era, and having equalled Steve Waugh as the third-most prolific ton-notcher in Ashes history, the former Australia skipper responded by saying: “He seems to have an answer for everything. He’s an incredible player, don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like him.” I don’t think anyone has.
If one were to predict the velocity of this encounter having studied the overnight scorecard after day three, then it would be fair to say that England were still operating from a position of relative strength – the Aussies had a slim lead of 34 and the top-order had been largely dismantled.
Day four saw Australia declare on 487/7, having opened up a lead of 397. Smith’s second century of the match was complemented expertly by Matthew Wade’s swashbuckling efforts, and England were made to suffer at the hands of Australia’s tail once again – James Pattinson (47*) and Pat Cummins (26*) both having some fun before the late declaration. England’s batsmen survived three overs of Nathan Lyon and four from the seamers in the latter knockings, finishing on 13/0, but Smith remained the talking point as the match edged towards its gripping fifth-day finale.
This time, the new ball happened to be his comeuppance, when Woakes had him nicking off for a stunning 142. A loose drive that flew into Barstow’s mitts proved that he is in fact still human. Smith, grimacing, trudged back to the pavilion as if he’d just been snared for a single-figure score, indicative of his other-worldly standards, lamenting his current weakness of not being able to convert his 140s into double-tons.
An upturned bottom lip, accompanied by a nod and an appreciative clap, has long been the mode of expression amongst ardent cricket lovers when an overseas player puts on a masterclass on their home shores. It’s the appreciation of class, acknowledgement for their efforts within the parameters of cricket’s universal standards. Contrastingly, Smith’s success seems to evoke fear and a sense of the ominous unknown amongst England’s supporters. The booing certainly hasn’t paid dividends.
