Smith nears perfection and dominates England to put tourists in charge

Double century leaves Root hoping for rain Hosts lose their way in face of master class

In what was the most exciting of all Test series, in 2005, Australia held on for a draw at Old Trafford with their last pair at the wicket. It is a result for which England would settle after being dominated by Australia over the first two days, so they would go to the Oval one-all and still with a chance of regaining the Ashes.

Every drop of Mancunian rain – some forecast for the third morning – will be welcomed by England’s dressing room. This ground’s temporary stand is vast and exposed but patriotic home supporters will tolerate soakings if England can escape from this Test, which has been such a let-down after the high hopes of Headingley.

It is not highly relevant that England have to convert their overnight 23, for the loss of their makeshift opener Joe Denly, into 298 to avoid the follow-on. The move has gone out of vogue; Australia’s bowlers will have to work hard and will deserve a respite. The pitch is not the kind England would have wanted in order to rattle Australia after their defeat in the third Test, and to rattle Steve Smith in particular after his concussion at Lord’s, but it is the right sort on which to fight for a draw over the last three days, barring footmarks and bounce for spinners.

The trouble for England is the balance of psychological power has drastically shifted in the two days’ play since Headingley. Australia no longer think themselves vulnerable, but inviolable, after Smith’s superlative innings of 211, in which he came as close as mortals can come to eliminating batsman-error.

Mental disintegration was the ambition of Steve Waugh, Australia’s captain of 20 years ago; mental domination is Smith’s achievement. Not Sir Garfield Sobers, not Brian Lara, not Sachin Tendulkar: none has risen so far above the other 21 players in the match as Smith has done during the past two Ashes series – only Sir Donald Bradman.

Statistical confirmation is that Smith now averages 64.64 in Tests, second only to Bradman’s 99, and it could well be 64.64 recurring, ad infinitum, like Smith’s clip off his legs.

At one tantalising moment England thought they had rid themselves of Dracula, caught in the web of Jack Leach, and impaled through the heart: Ben Stokes hurled the ball he had just caught into the turf in relief. Yet Dracula was unscathed, because Leach had noballed, and Smith returned to score another 93 runs.

In the rest of this series, while the wider point of interest is whether England can regain the Ashes, a more specific point will be the effect that Smith has on Joe Root and his batting. Root dismissed Smith, but it was through batsman-error, finally, when Australia were accelerating towards their declaration and Smith reverse-swept a catch.

Bradman assumed such proportions as he dominated two of England’s champions, firstly Wally Hammond, then Len Hutton: they would, in turn, have been the best batsman in the world but for Bradman. Dismissing Bradman became the obsession for both England captains – especially for Hammond, at first slip, after he had seen Bradman caught at second slip in the Brisbane Test of 1946-7 and refuse to walk. Hutton, for the rest of his life, was so obsessed that on his last visit to Australia, in 1982-3, he refused to meet Bradman: so intense is the rivalry that Yorkshire’s champions feel for those of New South Wales.

Smith played and missed several times at the start of day two when England’s seamers bowled just outside off stump on a fullish length, before the mental domination took effect, again. Root, and England, lost patience and bowled straighter and ever shorter. Instead of sticking to orthodoxy, they were sucked into Smith’s unorthodoxy; as it was in the opening Test at Edgbaston, as it was in the previous Ashes series in Australia, and as it must have been when Bradman refused to be drawn into driving off the front foot – and, in his own style, scored 300 in a day.

Jofra Archer was not so much out of sorts as he had been on the first day, perhaps because the wind was less strong and chilling. He missed the sharp return-chance offered by Smith when at 65 but kept running in, bending his back when he bowled bouncers to order with the second new ball. It is his least successful game for England probably for the simple reason he is running short of gas.

Stuart Broad had not participated in the World Cup and, more energetic, took the first wicket on day two when dismissing Travis Head leg-before: Broad pins lefthanders to his board like butterflies, but never looked like netting Smith. Stokes bowled 2.5 overs all day owing to his right shoulder: the time for Root to combine the Headingley hero and the crowd’s enthusiasm to produce combustion had long since passed.

Leach was steady, except when mortified with his no-ball, and Root considerately spared him the runa-ball onslaught by Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. Craig Overton was not so consistently accurate as a bowler of 80mph should be. Had the selectors known there would be a strong crosswind for the first two days, they must have opted for Chris Woakes’s outswingers.

England will hope it was no bad omen when, after tea, Jason Roy gave up second slip where he had been in his four previous Tests: dropping Tim Paine when he made only nine was the final straw. Sam Curran was also brought down to earth. Everything he had touched in his first year of Test cricket had turned to gold, apart from his two Tests in the West Indies, but as soon as he got on the field here he dropped a straightforward catch at mid-on offered by Paine when one short of his first 50 this summer. Character in adversity, or bowing to the domination of Smith and Australia? It is going to be a decisive weekend.

Direct hit: Joe Denly reacts after being struck by a delivery from Mitchell Starc