Ashes 2017/18, 3rd Test Day 2: 5 Talking Points

#3 England simply can’t get Steve Smith out

Steve Smith is unreal. By now, England, surely, have given up on getting him out. Before the start of the day’s play, it was a simple enough equation for Joe Root and his men - get Smith out or lose the Ashes.

From the moment Smith came on, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Moeen Ali – all the English bowlers tried and tried to get him out. Root even tried his hand at bowling and brought on Dawid Malan for a while.

But Smith just wouldn’t buckle. He batted in a manner that suggested that he was fully aware of his role in the side. He hardly broke a sweat on his way to his second double century and went on piling on the misery of the English bowlers through the day’s play.