ALAS SMITH AND GROANS
Aussie captain holds the key as England let chances slip
Only once, when Craig Overton got a ball to spit from nowhere into Steve Smith’s thumb and then his chin, did the Australia captain look troubled yesterday at the WACA.
Otherwise Smith was calmness personified at the ground where he invariably makes himself at home. He pushed his team towards an England total that, by the end of the second day of this third Test, was beginning to look far from formidable.
How England had begun to wish they had not suffered one of their customary collapses, losing their last six wickets for 35 to waste yet another opportunity to impose themselves on Australia.
And how England wished the best batsman in the world had not recovered his poise in time to knock that ball away with his bat after it dropped from his face dangerously close to his stumps.
It was the only glimmer of hope England had against a batsman who, on flat pitches at least, has built a Bradmanesque record despite such a quirky technique.
The devil disappeared from the surface when England had the ball. Their attack has no one who can reach 90mph and they get little help, for now, from underperforming spinner Moeen Ali.
Smith was still there looking unflustered at the close, eight short of his century and holding the key to the Ashes. Get him early on the third day and England could be in business. Fail and they are in trouble.
The sight of Overton walking off with a rib injury summed up England’s day. He was England’s best bowler in only his second Test and had been hurt while trying to catch Usman Khawaja.
It should not have been that way. When Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow had taken their fifth-wicket stand to 237 Australia were wilting and England looked set for the score of 500 that would all but guarantee at least a draw.
Bairstow had moved to his first Ashes century, probably the best of his four in Test cricket, and celebrated by giving his helmet a gentle nudge with his head to mock his alleged butt on Cameron Bancroft.
It was a special moment for Bairstow, who has endured a miserable few weeks, with that stitchup over what he apparently did in The Avenue bar and, worse, some unacceptable comments made during the first Test. This was the perfect riposte from Bairstow, who served up a reminder that he can put any Ashes silliness into its proper perspective.
Just as English optimism was rising it all came crashing down in such a familiar way after Malan went in anti-climactic fashion. He chose the wrong ball to attack from nathan lyon and was well caught by Australia substitute Peter Handscomb.
It could have been a hiccup but instead England tumbled as only they can, first when out-of-sorts Moeen, who must have known he would be peppered, fended limply at his second ball after spending hours watching Bairstow and Malan battle so hard.
Bairstow then became frenetic as the tail continued to implode and eventually fell playing across the line to Mitchell Starc.
By the end, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson were doing their utmost to avoid danger and England reached 400 only thanks to a thumping slogged six from Broad.
Anderson and Broad were then not threatening with the ball. Instead England had to rely on Overton to claim David Warner and then Bancroft with the help of technology after Marais Erasmus had ruled out an lbw shout.
Khawaja lived dangerously, almost being caught and bowled by Overton before he had scored and then edging Chris Woakes past a static Joe Root at second slip on 28. Somehow he survived to add 124 with Smith.
Woakes finally got Khawaja when a positive decision by Erasmus was just about confirmed on review, much to the disappointment of Smith, who shook his head and hit his pads with his bat in a show of near-dissent.
It looked unlikely last night to attract the attention of match referee Richie Richardson but, like so much of what he does other than bat extremely well, this was not good from Smith.
England could have made life harder by bowling Anderson at him sooner but Root kept his best bowler out of the attack until Australia’s captain had made 47.
Australia should have lost a fourth wicket but both Bairstow and Mark Stoneman failed to reach a simple chance off Stoneman’s boot offered by Shaun Marsh off Moeen. They finished the second day exactly 200 behind England but while Smith remains they will be on top.