(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The
roar Joe Root let out when he reviewed correctly to dismiss Cameron
Bancroft shortly after David Warner nicked off was guttural and
instructive. The England captain had got the big call right and they had
two in a hurry. After a horrid collapse before lunch, and an imposing
start for Australia, England were suddenly back in the day with Craig
Overton looking more dangerous by the delivery.
But the fate of the
hours to come was always going to rest on how they went when the next
guy walked out, Root's opposite number, Steve Smith. 'Buts don't come
bigger in international cricket. When he gets it right, and so often he
does, Australia almost always win. Only two of his 21 centuries have
been reached in losing teams and England can't afford to lose here.
It's binary. Get Smith or get stuffed.
From the moment the home
captain walked out he batted in a manner that suggests he gets this,
too. He is fully aware of his role as the main character in every story
these sides write. In the series opener, his job was a shock absorber;
to exhaust the England bowlers. Here it was different. A higher-octane
contest required a high-tempo innings to heap scoreboard pressure back
on to Root. Especially after England left so many runs behind with the
bat.
So he went to work. Two thumping off-drives came inside the
first 10 deliveries he faced. The first time Overton gave him an
opportunity he repeated the stroke. A fourth strike came before tea. To
the extent that Smith was in control was highlighted by the last ball of
that session when Overton got it to spit before smashing into Smith's
thumb, head and rolling towards his stumps. Yet he had the presence of
mind to get his stinging hand back on to the bat to parry away the ball
from the woodwork. For Root, it must have been as ominous as any of the
drives. Nothing was breaking Smith's concentration.
In the space of
24 balls, the complexion of the game had changed. Smith was on one and
everyone knew it. Wisden's editor, Lawrence Booth, formerly of this
parish, put it best shortly after the interval. 'Can anyone look nailed
on for a hundred with 63 runs still to go? he tweeted.
In the space
of a spell, Smith made Stuart Broad look a spent force. After
disdainfully pulling for six, he middled him past point off the balls of
his feet like it wasn't one of the hardest shots in the game. Off the
pads he clipped with immaculate timing to the rope once more. Then for
his final trick he adjusted midstroke to a bouncer that didn't get up,
bisecting two fielders. He flashed a knowing grin in response. Broad
didn't.
Neither did Root. He knows the deal. Smith probably reminds
him of himself on the days when he is playing by different rules to the
rest. When Usman Khawaja was on 32, he didn't get a hand to a chance at
second slip. Related to what the Australian numero uno was up to?
Surely. Smith responded by bringing up his half-century in 58 balls if
you don't mind by launching into another cover drive.
At the final
drinks break, an interview with Smith appeared on the big screen where
he described his century in the corresponding fixture in 2013. It was
the knock that changed it all, the moment where he proved to himself
that he could really do it. Three boundaries in a row followed the
beverage. Then a deft late cut. This was history repeating itself on the
Waca Ground.
With stumps looming, he put it away. The ton can wait
for day three. But one last run took Australia to an even 200 behind,
his stay successfully redefining the terms of reference for the contest.
'He's the sort of guy when he gets into a rhythm you don't want to
break it up, Khawaja said at stumps. 'More impressive is how Smudge
bats in terms of the margin for error when you bowl to him is so little,
as the English found out today.
They sure did. The lesson for Root
through his side's final intervention of the day, Woakes trapping
Khawaja a couple of overs after being brought into the attack, was that
they can make the game move fast, too. Smith showed him how it's done.
Now it is his move. They can change the course of the match.
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