Smith warms up for the upcoming Ashes in style with a commanding century for New South Wales at the Gabba.
Smith puts England on notice with sparkling Gabba knock.
In his first cricket match in almost two months, Steven Smith hammered 118 for New South Wales, sending a dire warning to England ahead of the Ashes.
Smith was in commanding form as he led NSW to 349 for 5 in the Sheffield Shield against Queensland, following a six-week spell in New York during which he did not pick up a bat.
Kurtis Patterson also scored 122 after the Gabba’s first day of play was cancelled due to weather, and newcomer Will Salzmann made an impression with 65.
Sam Konstas was bowled middle stump for ten, leaving a delivery from left-armer Hayden Kerr that slanted directly into his wickets. This was the lone unpleasant moment for NSW.
Konstas would benefit from a summer away from the spotlight in the Shield since he currently has virtually little chance of keeping his position as Australia’s opener.
However, Smith’s form is unquestionable going into the first Test in Perth on November 21. Smith will captain Australia in lieu of Pat Cummins, who is ailing.
On Wednesday, Smith began his innings with 21 dot balls, but the right-hander watched from the moment he on-drive Sam Skelly to the boundary to get off the mark.
The 36-year-old used the Gabba like his playground and appeared to be at his peak three weeks after the first Test, as seen by the barrage of drives and pull shots that followed.
He scored 86 runs in boundaries, including a huge six down Mitchell Swepson’s ground after charging the legspinner and taking him on.
Smith, who was formerly known for being a cricket nuffy who might have trained too much, said this week that he only needed two hits in the nets to get ready for the summer.
With 12 career hundreds against England and an average of 56.01, Smith is arguably Australia’s best-performing hitter in Ashes history, aside from Don Bradman.
His runs on Wednesday coincided with England’s ODI team’s collapse across the Tasman, where they were all out for 175 in a five-wicket loss to New Zealand.