QQQ Daily Mail, Friday, August 23, 201988 THE ASHES THIRD TEST
LIFE WITHOUT
SMITH IS REAL
HEADACHE
FOR AUSSIES
THE ASHES
MARTIN
SAMUEL
Chief Sports Writer
reports from
HeadingleyA
t 2.20pm yester-
day, Australia’s
second wicket
fell. Usually, this
would be a source
of trepidation for English-
men, maybe even a moment
of regret.
that’s the problem with Ashes
cricket this summer. You can’t
bowl the Australia team out
without taking that second wicket.
And you can’t take that second
wicket without bringing Steve
Smith to the crease.
His style frustrates and infuri-
ates, his steady accumulation
ruins the rhythm of even the most
cocksure bowler. And, at Lord’s,
just when you think you’re rid of
him, he comes back. But not
yesterday. Not this time.
Smith is still recovering from a
concussive blow from Jofra Archer
and in his absence Australia are
bereft. As Usman Khawaja
trooped back to the pavilion, there
was no Smith to ride quirkily to
Australia’s rescue, to stride across
the outfield and fidget his way to
the latest mighty accumulation.
No Smith to dig in through a
collapse, either, no Smith with his
exaggerated leaves and funky
inexplicable movement that defies
every coaching manual, yet brings
an incongruous calm to the
pressure cooker middle. Marnus
Labuschagne was his replacement
and he did very well. But he’s not
Smith. Australia knew that and
didn’t like it one bit.
Joe Root, England’s captain,
knew it too, which is why he did
not politely pretend this was any
old player, and any old space on
the team sheet. He didn’t offer the
platitudes that Australia would be
the same no matter who was out
there because it’s patently untrue.
‘they will be huge shoes to fill,’
he said. ‘You get these swings
within a big series like this every
now and again, and when you get
your opportunity you’ve got to
jump on it.’
And to this end, he was as good
as his word. Root won the toss
and stuck Australia in. Would he
have been that bold if Smith could
march in and take the day away
from England? Unlikely.
When Australia had inserted
England at Lord’s it was an
indictment of their performance
at Edgbaston. Yesterday’s deci-
sion was a combination of poor
weather and a missing talismanicbatsman. Root had seen weakness
on day five at Lord’s. Now, if this
Ashes series does turn at Headin-
gley, it will not just be about what
England have gained in the pace
bowling of Archer — who took a
magnificent six for 45, confirming
his status as the superstar of the
sporting summer — but what
Australia have lost, too.
Smith will be back for the fourth
test at Old trafford — but in this
brief spell of respite England have
made hay. Confident enough to
put Australia in — a plan that
appeared to have backfired, before
the tumble of wickets late in the
day proved the decision correct.
Australia are greatly reduced
tactically, technically but
most of all mentally by
Smith’s withdrawal. It
is not just the weight
of runs that he delivers
— although obviously
that matters — but the
swagger his presence
brings. Australia have
an unearned, unmer-
ited assurance when
he is around. It’s
like having the
biggest boy in
the playground
as your best
mate, orbeing the pipsqueak member of
the hardest gang.
Australia’s top order are peering
out from behind Smith’s mighty
shoulders, sneering and snarling.
Australia were 25 for two, later
lost three wickets for three runs,
and ended the day 179 all out.
Archer was superb. Yet we will
never know what difference Smith
might have made in similar
circumstances, given he turned
122 for eight into 284 all out at
Edgbaston. England didn’t have
Archer in that test, of course.
Yet, the fact travis Head and
Matthew Wade went for ducks
here after David Warner had fallen
is a nod to Smith’s influence. Both
made significant scores in part-
nership with Smith in the first twotests, but were swiftly dispatched.
true, Head got the ball of the
day from Stuart Broad, while
Wade was unfortunate to play on,
yet the implosion in Australia’s
middle order is the type of crisis
Smith steers his country through.
He just needs a companion at
the crease to do his damage. In
the first innings of the first test at
Edgbaston, he more than doubled
Australia’s total in the company of
the lowest-order batsmen, Peter
Siddle and Nathan Lyon.
And while Labuschagne battled
gamely to play Smith’s role, it did
not carry the same threat. Eng-
land knew they were facing Smith
Lite, and when Labuschagne was
dismissed by a straight, high full
toss that he completely missed, it
merely confirmed it.
Archer’s bowling influences the
mood in the crowd, and certainly
impacted magnificently on this
game, but it is Smith’s becalm-
ing that has messed with
minds in the visitors’ team
room. Labuschagne was excel-
lent at Lord’s, too, and brave,
considering the blow he took from
Archer. Yet he isn’t the same.
He digs in like Smith but doesn’t
score like him. Even as he toiled
gamely and impressively, Australia
remained vulnerable. Lionel Messicould not stop Barcelona losing at
Liverpool; Cristiano Ronaldo
could not find a way through for
Juventus against Ajax.
Just having Smith in the team
does not mean Australia will
always win; no more than finding
Archer guarantees 20 wickets for
England.
But it helps. Just as tossing the
ball to Archer has quickly become
Root’s default tactic when the
attack begins to stagnate, so
Smith’s presence covers myriad
flaws in Australia’s top order.
It is hard to remember when
Warner last looked as out-of-sorts
at the crease as he has on this
tour, and it is to his great credit
that he scrapped through to get
61 when he could barely lay bat on
ball in the early overs.
Perhaps with Smith at the crease
the pair could have amassed a
match-changing total.
Instead, having seen Australia
to a highly creditable 136 for
two, Warner will have watched
in anguish as his hard work
was undermined.
Australia could not
last without their big
bully batsman. Eng-
land must make the most of this
opportunity. It isn’t likely to come
around again. Not this summer.