Steve Smith secures another century as Australia set England considerable target in first Ashes Test

Smith followed up his first innings score of 144 with a 142.
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Will Macpherson4 August 2019

For three days, the first Ashes Test went back and forth, with England and Australia trading blows, but neither ever able to hammer home an emphatic advantage.

Well, on the fourth day Australia burst ahead. They return on Monday needing 10 wickets to have completed a successfully storming of “Fortress Edgbaston”. What a step that would be on their attempt to win the Ashes away for the first time in 18 years.

Naturally, it was Steve Smith who led Australia’s advance. These days, we are more surprised about the records he has not broken, rather than those he has.

So it was a shock to learn that this was the first time he had scored twin tons in a match. He is the fifth Australian to do so in an Ashes Test, and this was his 27th ton and 10th against England in their last 17 meetings. Remarkable. England have tried everything to get him out, and the plans just do not work. Smith has eradicated risk.

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This one was different to his first innings effort, swifter and more fluent, but shared its chancelessness and total, unstinting focus.

Steve Waugh said at lunchtime that it was as if he was in a ‘trance-like state’ when at the crease. He was exactly right.

England essentially had to get Smith out in the first half-hour. They bowled well enough at him, but without success, and he took lunch on 98 not out.

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By then he had lost Travis Head to the tireless Ben Stokes, ending a very fine partnership of 130. Smith was unfazed, of course, threading a perfect cover drive through a packed field to reach his century in the second over after lunch. He had faced 147 balls for it but was not done yet.

It took until almost tea to prise him out, a rare lapse of contribution when England finally took the new ball. Jonny Bairstow’s catch was a smart one, but this was not his tidiest day behind the stumps.

In Head’s place, another nuggety left-hander on Ashes debut joined Smith for a big stand. Matthew Wade, returning to the Test side after almost two years away, made his third Test century, and first against England, counter-attacking hard and punishing anything remotely loose.

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He was particularly hard on Moeen Ali, who is a real worry for England. With the ball turning – his ball to get Tim Paine – but returned figures of just two for 130, and the comparison with Nathan Lyon by the close of play on Monday will be fascinating. Wade reached his century with a powerful reverse-sweep off Moeen, which felt appropriate.

Smith has dragged the rest of Australia’s order along with him.

As well as Wade’s excellent hundred, there were valuable, confidence-swelling contributions from Head (51) and Tim Paine (34). Even James Pattinson (47, a Test best, which including a six into a punter’s pint glass) and Pat Cummins (26) had time for some slogging in an eighth wicket. Cummins hit the final ball of the innings for six to take the lead to 397.

Risk of Australian defeat had long since been eradicated, and England’s successes against the touring top three seemed a distant memory. England were tactically naive (Woakes bowled just seven overs?), but beyond Moeen did not bowl poorly. Without James Anderson, they were just ground into the dirt.

Out came England’s openers with 30 minutes and seven overs to survive. They did, just, so Rory Burns will have batted on all five days. Smith followed his first century with another. If England are to get out of Edgbaston alive, Burns must front up again.

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