Steve Smith revived Australia's hopes of a win in the first Ashes Test with 144 after a batting collapse all around him.
England - 10-0 / 284 - Australia
Steve Smith made 144 in his first Test since the ball-tampering scandal to repair the damage made by an earlier batting collapse in the first day of the Ashes at Edgbaston.
The former captain oversaw a brilliant recovery from 122-8 to 284 all out, with England batting out two overs to finish 10-0 at the close of play.
Smith, alongside team-mates David Warner and Cameron Bancroft who faced bans for sandpaper-gate, were booed to the crease, with Smith witnessing a collapse of five wickets for 23 runs from the non-striker's end.
Number 10 Peter Siddle was his best partner, the Essex seamer in playing only his third Test in as many years, adding 88 with Smith for the ninth wicket, before the 34-year-old was caught at short leg off Moeen Ali for 44.
Smith was on 85 when last man Nathan Lyon joined him at the crease, and drove Ben Stokes for his 24th Test century before cutting loose the weary bowlers.
Lyon and Smith shared 74, as they made the most of an England attack without James Anderson who aggravated an existing calf injury in the four overs he bowled in the morning.
Smith's dismissal gave Stuart Broad his fifth wicket, after which Rory Burns and Jason Roy negotiated the last two overs of the day.
For the earlier portion of the day, it belonged to Broad and Chris Woakes making light of Anderson's absence by exploiting the slow surface.
The infamously rowdy Eric Hollies stand waved sandpaper during the Australian national anthem, and taunted Tim Paine and the travelling support that he would be "sacked in the morning."
Broad served the Aussie captain a short ball which he hooked to Burns at deep square leg for just five, with both bowler and batsman dumbfounded that he had been dismissed by that.
This came the day after Paine suggested that there were more than 15 more intimidating grounds to play at than 'Fortress Edgbaston', which was fresh in the minds of the Barmy Army, who relished seeing the back of Paine after a very short stint at the crease.
The umpires did not help to calm the situation, with four decisions overturned on review and another three that would have been changed had they been reviewed.
None of that bothered Smith though, who played a Bradman-esque innings to rescue his team from a pitifully low score to start the series, while also overcoming his mental demons on his emotional return.
England suffered at the hands of Smith in the 4-0 defeat down under 18 months ago as he scored 687 runs, while his performance today showed that his enjoyment of batting has not diminished in his time away from the game.
He absorbed all the pressure of the English support - the Hollies stand sang "he's going to cry in a minute!" in reference to his tearful press conference after the scandal in the Test series in South Africa last March.
He seems to have brilliant awareness of his positioning in relation to the wicket, knowing when to leave and when to strike - even with his huge score, he faced more balls on his own than all of the rest of the top nine combined.
When given out for lbw on 34, he flamboyantly didn't play a shot off Broad, which was one of the many umpiring errors of the day, as ball-tracking showed it was missing the stumps.
Siddle was trusted with the strike by Smith, though he didn't offer the same confidence with Lyon, as Smith flayed the ball all around the ground towards the end of the innings.
England had all nine fielders on the boundary with Smith on strike, with his destructive phase ended as Broad knocked out his middle stump.
The Ashes Fixtures and Results
1-5 August
First Test, Edgbaston
14-18 August
Second Test, Lord's
22-26 August
Third Test, Headingley
4-8 September
Fourth Test, Old Trafford
12-16 September
Fifth Test, The Oval
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| Photo from Metro |
Steve Smith made 144 in his first Test since the ball-tampering scandal to repair the damage made by an earlier batting collapse in the first day of the Ashes at Edgbaston.
The former captain oversaw a brilliant recovery from 122-8 to 284 all out, with England batting out two overs to finish 10-0 at the close of play.
Smith, alongside team-mates David Warner and Cameron Bancroft who faced bans for sandpaper-gate, were booed to the crease, with Smith witnessing a collapse of five wickets for 23 runs from the non-striker's end.
Number 10 Peter Siddle was his best partner, the Essex seamer in playing only his third Test in as many years, adding 88 with Smith for the ninth wicket, before the 34-year-old was caught at short leg off Moeen Ali for 44.
Smith was on 85 when last man Nathan Lyon joined him at the crease, and drove Ben Stokes for his 24th Test century before cutting loose the weary bowlers.
Lyon and Smith shared 74, as they made the most of an England attack without James Anderson who aggravated an existing calf injury in the four overs he bowled in the morning.
Smith's dismissal gave Stuart Broad his fifth wicket, after which Rory Burns and Jason Roy negotiated the last two overs of the day.
For the earlier portion of the day, it belonged to Broad and Chris Woakes making light of Anderson's absence by exploiting the slow surface.
The infamously rowdy Eric Hollies stand waved sandpaper during the Australian national anthem, and taunted Tim Paine and the travelling support that he would be "sacked in the morning."
Broad served the Aussie captain a short ball which he hooked to Burns at deep square leg for just five, with both bowler and batsman dumbfounded that he had been dismissed by that.
This came the day after Paine suggested that there were more than 15 more intimidating grounds to play at than 'Fortress Edgbaston', which was fresh in the minds of the Barmy Army, who relished seeing the back of Paine after a very short stint at the crease.
The umpires did not help to calm the situation, with four decisions overturned on review and another three that would have been changed had they been reviewed.
None of that bothered Smith though, who played a Bradman-esque innings to rescue his team from a pitifully low score to start the series, while also overcoming his mental demons on his emotional return.
 |
| Photo from Sky Sports |
He absorbed all the pressure of the English support - the Hollies stand sang "he's going to cry in a minute!" in reference to his tearful press conference after the scandal in the Test series in South Africa last March.
He seems to have brilliant awareness of his positioning in relation to the wicket, knowing when to leave and when to strike - even with his huge score, he faced more balls on his own than all of the rest of the top nine combined.
When given out for lbw on 34, he flamboyantly didn't play a shot off Broad, which was one of the many umpiring errors of the day, as ball-tracking showed it was missing the stumps.
Siddle was trusted with the strike by Smith, though he didn't offer the same confidence with Lyon, as Smith flayed the ball all around the ground towards the end of the innings.
England had all nine fielders on the boundary with Smith on strike, with his destructive phase ended as Broad knocked out his middle stump.
The Ashes Fixtures and Results
1-5 August
First Test, Edgbaston
14-18 August
Second Test, Lord's
22-26 August
Third Test, Headingley
4-8 September
Fourth Test, Old Trafford
12-16 September
Fifth Test, The Oval
Never miss a post - enter your email address in the box on the right!
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