Shuffle, leave, numb England, repeat: Steven Smith does it again

If they keep bowling outside off, Steven Smith will keep leaving them. And he will keep doing so until the Englishmen are forced to bowl on stumps. The runs will come and they will come in hundreds. For England, Smith’s innings will be like the longer and colder nights during winter.

Smith, as would anyone do to survive in Test cricket, left Broad’s deliveries to irk him © Getty Images

Steven Smith’s shuffle makes him a good leg-side player, and that is where you will find most of his runs on the wagon wheel. But, if that is the case, should he not be getting cornered lbw at times?

They even place a leg slip for him. He somehow finds a way to dab the deliveries down. Have you seen him pull through mid-off?

Or, better place a deep square-leg and force him to hook one in the air. Mind you, he is not a six-hitter. He hooks in abundance, but seldom do his strokes find a fielder. So, how do you get him out?

The edging blade of Smith in the 2015-16 Ashes

Stuart Broad had deciphered it: bowl a foot outside off-stump, cramp him for room, and have him caught behind the wickets. He had done it in the opener of the 2015 Ashes at Cardiff. After making Smith poke outside off time and again, Broad had angled one in and let it hold its line. Smith, after surviving 76 deliveries in alien conditions, edged to Ian Bell in the slip cordon.

A match later, at Edgbaston, Steven Finn had sent one down in a channel outside off; Alastair Cook at first slip had taken a low, lovely catch. Of course, sandwiched between the two dismissals was a magnificent double-hundred at Lord’s…

In the next match Broad induced another edge. Once again Smith was caught in the slip cordon. Smith tried to fight his demons in the second innings, but England lured him to drive away from his body; this time he edged it to point. Come to think of it, Virat Kohli is not the only one who was knocked down in the corridor of uncertainty in England.

England had Smith trapped in their ploy four times in eight innings. Smith, however, quashed England’s tactics in the last Test: he shuffled, left the ones outside off, bored England, forced them to bowl on stumps, accumulated 143 runs in 387 minutes, and eventually took Australia over the line.

Brisbane, 2017

Broad must have vivid memories of Smith’s edging blade in the previous Ashes. That, in all probability, would have been a major part of England’s homework: make Smith thump outside off and find an edge.

Smith, as would anyone do to survive in Test cricket, left Broad’s deliveries instead. He shuffled from leg- to off-stump only to leave a delivery. To put things into perspective, he does not leave balls for the sake of it; he sets his eyes on the ball until it rests in the wicketkeeper’s gloves; he then plays an imaginary shot, estimating how that would have panned out.

But it did not end there. He left more and played more imaginary shots. Why shadow practice when he had planned to leave them anyway?

James Anderson, Jake Ball, and Chris Woakes took cue from Broad, but Smith was in no mood to score runs on the off. In fact, Smith appeared disinterested in scoring runs at all. England were left helpless, but something had to be done.

They stuck to an off-stump line. Smith shuffled and played straight-drives. Such is the extent of his shuffle that he could have flicked them past mid-on. But he was there neither to score boundaries nor dominate England; he was there to stay, frustrate, exhaust them.

Joe Root placed a leg-slip. England now either bowled outside off or outside leg. A fraction late in execution, and Smith would be dismissed. That, or anything, did not happen. Smith found a way to survive.

Root placed a second slip and a gully, expecting Smith to play the ones outside off and give the edge England were longing for. Smith gave England what they wanted, but he scythed the short ones over the slips and punched the length balls through gaps. There was some risk involved this time, but this is the No. 1 batsman in ICC Test Rankings we are talking about, a man Ricky Ponting backs to become the greatest. He knows his business.

Broad came over the wicket. Was he still hoping for an edge? Perhaps a change in angle would have agitated Smith’s concentration. Broad must have thought something when he did so. But nothing changed. Smith played the first cover-drive of the innings off a pacer, bringing up his 21st hundred.

An #Ashes ton that will go down as one of Steve Smith’s finest!

You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him! #MagellanMilestones pic.twitter.com/66WldhvWFU

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) November 25, 2017

Smith then played a pull off a short-of-length ball pitched outside off. He had thus far scored over 100 runs, having faced over 300 deliveries. There was a slip waiting for the edge. There was a mid-on as well, in case Smith mistimed. As he has done what seemed like a hundred times in the innings, he would have left it. He chose to pull instead, because England bowled where he wanted to.

What was Smith up to?

The English openers would have been mentally ready to bat when Australia had lost half their side. James Anderson made it easier when he dismissed Tim Paine with an absolute ripper. Mitchell Starc had his one-six extravaganza before Broad removed him in the same over. Three more wickets and the English openers would be taking guard again. There was over a session’s time left for the day. And Australia had not taken any lead.

Smith batted as if Australia had 10 wickets in hand. He had No. 9 Pat Cummins at the other hand. Lucky are Australia that Cummins is armed with a reasonable technique. He helped Smith add 66 in 206 balls, 42 off 120 of which came off his bat. Smith had not changed his approach, and the English openers were still awaiting their chance.

Cummins departed, and Smith added 23 off 52 with Josh Hazlewood.

Hazlewood departed, and Smith added 30 off 43 with Nathan Lyon.

From 30 for 2 in 10.3 overs, Smith lifted Australia to 328 all in 130.2. He remained unbeaten on 141 off 326.

By the time the Englishmen came to bat, they had tired legs and fatigued minds. It was evident from Alastair Cook’s dismissal, for seldom is he late in executing a pull. James Vince would have left the out-swinger had he been fresh. Mark Stoneman and Root had their moments of struggle before stumps on Day Three. The exhausted Englishmen were dulled by Smith’s temperament.

England had a night’s rest, but they were two down when they resumed on Day Four. That played on their minds. Root gave his all to stem more runs, but he could not match Smith’s temperament; he could not survive beyond 159 deliveries.

Smith’s tactic had worked. England had lost their focus.

This was Smith’s first innings of the 2017-18 Ashes. There are more to come. And England have not figured out how to dismiss Smith. If they keep bowling outside off, Smith will keep leaving them. And he will keep doing so until the Englishmen are forced to bowl on stumps. The runs will come and they will come in hundreds. For England, Smith’s innings will be like the longer and colder nights during winter. He will shuffle, leave, and numb them.