It”s been 17 months since Steve Smith played his last game in the whites. A mistake committed by the leadership group on the field cost him a year”s ban. But that hasn”t created such a hassle in his form or his quality.
Though the Barmy Army kept booing him throughout the game, he answered them with his bat. Runs kept on flowing from him while wickets kept on falling on the other end. In the process, Smith registered his 24th test century.
His knock of 144 at Edgbaston today will remain in the minds of cricket fans forever. Particularly, his change of gears after reaching the three-digit mark. He broke several records in this comeback game.
Smith now averages over 62.18 among the cricketers who represented a minimum of 100 innings. His knock of 144 today is the highest score by a batsman on the first day of the Ashes series in England.
Steve Smith reveals the moment he rediscovered his love for cricket
Steve Smith is also the second-fastest batsman to score 24 test hundreds. He is(118) six innings ahead of Virat Kohli(123) to achieve this feat. These figures are enough to say that he has established himself as one of the finest for the longest format of the game.
Nine and counting
Steve Smith is also now the third Australian player to score maximum centuries in the Ashes. He now has nine to his bag just one behind Steve Waugh. Sir Donald Bradman leads the list with 19
Smith has contributed over 25 per cent of the runs for his side during Ashes 2017. Can he recreate the magic in this series? We will have to wait and watch.
The focus now shifts towards day 2 as England ended the day at 10/0. It will be a test for the Aussie pace trio to make some early impact in the game. As Jason Roy is at the crease, an interesting battle on the cards is awaited for the day.
