Ashes 2017/18, 2nd Test: 5 things we learnt from the third day's play

#2 Steven Smith's surprising call

Smith opted to bat once again rather than enforce the follow-on

The evening sky had turned red when Australia bowled out the visitors with a 15-run margin allowing them to enforce the follow-on. Smith, though, rather surprisingly, decided against it. The pink ball moves around under lights, and with a brand new one available and England's vulnerable top order in sight, it was strange that Smith didn't opt to make the visitors bat again.

While the decision could have something to do with keeping the pace bowling trio fresh, an opportunity to further damage the psyche of England's listless batsmen went begging. Anderson and Broad bowled impeccable lines, generated outrageous swing and further vindicated the fact that Smith's decision wasn't too clever.

A staggering 80% of deliveries with this new ball have swung a "large" amount (more than 0.85°). Excellent start from England. #Ashes

— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) December 4, 2017