Steve Smith was dismissed for a duck for the first time in the Ashes against England after eight years, with his first coming against them in Brisbane in 2013.
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Steve Smith is an absolute monster when it comes to hurting England in the Ashes. Ever since he started playing against England, Steve Smith has scored over 3000 runs at an average of 60. His tally of 11 centuries is the best by an Australian only behind Sir Don Bradman in Ashes. But, in the Hobart Pink Ball Test against England in January 2022, Steve Smith suffered a fate that had not befallen him for over eight years.
Smith was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Ollie Robinson. The bowler bowled a back of a length delivery which nipped away outside off. Smith was squared up in defense and the edge flew to Zak Crawley. This was the first time that Steve Smith had fallen for a duck in the Ashes after Brisbane 2013. In the first Ashes Test at that time, Smith fell for a seven-ball duck. He edged a fuller ball that nipped away outside off to the keeper.
Steve Smith has been a century-scoring machine in the Ashes. In 2013 and 2015 editions, Smith hit two centuries each. The tons in Perth, Sydney, Lord’s, and The Oval made him a name to be reckoned with. Smith raised his game in the 2017 Ashes when he hit centuries in Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne. During the 2019 Ashes series, Smith hit centuries in Edgbaston and Old Trafford to end with 774 runs in the series.
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Now, with the second-ball dismissal, Smith is in danger of not scoring an Ashes hundred for the first time in 12 years. In his debut series in 2010/11, Smith’s highest score was 54* in the Sydney Test of 2011. At that time, he had made his first Ashes appearance in Perth and had failed to make an impression.
Smith’s highest score in the whole 2021/22 series is 93. He, along with David Warner has not hit a century in this Ashes contest. Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head are the only Australian players to have hit a century in this series. For England, only Jonny Bairstow has hit a century.
At the Dinner Break, Australia was 85/4, with Usman Khawaja also falling cheaply. But, the weirdest dismissal came just before the break. Stuart Broad was about to deliver the ball and Marnus Labuschagne shuffled to the offside. But, his spikes slipped and he could not regain his balance. Broad just hit the stumps and Labuschagne fell for 44.
