Rising from the dust – Steve Smith’s magnificent hundred at Edgbaston
When Steve Smith sprinted back to the pavilion after his dismissal, the right side of his jersey was enveloped with the Edgbaston soil. Perhaps, the soil also wanted to be a part of this historic knock that lasted 219 balls. Battling like a soldier, Smith stood undeterred at Birmingham while the world turned around him. From 122/8, he carried the side to 284 with able tail-enders for company. By the time he finished his innings, Smith had turned boos into applause.
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The first Test of Ashes 2019 at Edgbaston, Birmingham endured a chaotic start. Reviewed and non-reviewed decisions eventually reduced Australia to 17/2 in 7.5 overs. As Smith walked out to bat, the boos for his entry and Cameron Bancroft’s exit assimilated and gave the hooting a grander effect. The batsman brushed it all off and took his guard. He had endured this during the World Cup too.
Starting the innings was not so easy for Smith. With a world-class bowler like Stuart Broad exploiting all the right lengths, survival was a hard-fought affair. But the grind never perturbed the Australian. He edged, he missed, he was batting ugly but he was there.
Later in the day, Smith reflected on this early struggle. “The ball was doing a fair bit out in the morning so I had to work really hard. I got beaten a few times but I just had to let that go and concentrated on the next ball and kept digging in, I know that the first Test for an Ashes series is always big. I didn’t want to give my wicket up easily, I wanted to keep fighting.” And boy, he did fight.
Also read: Ashes 2019: 1st Test – Smith masterclass, Broad’s 5-fer highlight Day 1
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At 122/8, the situation was grim. However, Smith found an able ally in the old warhorse, Peter Siddle. The 35-year old not only occupied the crease for 85 balls but also added 44 runs for the team. The Victorian looked so comfortable that Smith did not hesitate to hand him strike even on the first ball of an over. While Siddle stood tall, Smith punished English bowlers at the other end.
In the 88-run partnership with Siddle, Smith scored 43 of them in just 55 balls. When Moeen Ali accounted for the bowler, Smith was batting on 85 from 165 balls. In the next few overs, he smashed Ali for a four and a six while Lyon handled Stokes comfortably. The much-awaited moment came in the 73rd over of the day. Mister fidgety was on strike with 99 runs to his name.
Smith played first three balls of the over without getting a run. He walked into a drive on the fourth delivery and stroked it through the covers to bring up his 24th Test ton. In 65 matches. In his first Test/first-class innings after 22nd March 2018. On the first day of the Ashes Test. Amidst the boos and overpowering applause. It was a scene befitting a heart-melting drama.
“I think it has got to be one of my best hundreds…It’s been a long time coming, getting another Test hundred, and it was a huge moment and I’m lost for words, I don’t really know what to say at the moment,” Smith exclaimed while reflecting on his innings. On 25th March 2018, there was another press conference where Smith did not know what to say. But we are long past that now.
With the last pair at the crease, Smith was determined to get as many runs as quickly as possible to make the hosts bat in the daunting weather conditions. After reaching three-figures, Smith scored his next 41 runs in just 35 balls. He launched an assault on Broad and Chris Woakes by belting many short deliveries that came his way. Broad finally castled him on 144. The batsman ran off to allow maximum overs for his bowlers.
“There were times throughout the last 15 months where I didn’t know if I was ever going to play cricket again,” Smith said. Luckily for cricket, he is here and he is well.
Fair to say Steve Smith enjoyed his comeback ? #Ashes pic.twitter.com/1irvW2AKjh
— ICC (@ICC) August 1, 2019
