Uneasy, unnerved, un-Smith – Australian great falters in spotlight

England and Steve Smith.

For 15 years, the right-hander has steadfastly controlled the Ashes series.

Smith must be kept quiet if England are to prevail in Australia.

A Smith innings that stands alone for its unease was exactly what Ben Stokes’ side needed on day one.

Smith’s entire attention was entirely at his own volition during the 24 hours leading up to the first Test.

He stepped into his captain’s press conference, which he may only do once a week if Pat Cummins recovers from injury, to address Monty Panesar in a preplanned and premediated manner.

Nobody in this country cared to hear the former England spinner’s comments about how England should “make Smith feel guilty” about his role in the “Sandpapergate” scandal when they first appeared a week ago, so I apologize for being mean.

However, they were able to get away with Smith after he was the target of England fans’ taunts since his part in the 2018 ball-tampering incident against South Africa.

And that’s when he snapped as a media tit-for-tat battle unfolded on the eve of the Ashes.

After just two deliveries, Smith moved to the middle after Jake Weatherald was floored by Jofra Archer and later dismissed lbw.

England fans cried in tears on television when he resigned as captain in 2018 (a Panesar update is still unfinished) as he emerged, collar up, and in full flow with the typical Nadalian twitches (a Panesar update is still being made available down under).

Smith scored 17 runs before being caught off Brydon Carse by Harry Brook, making it the least un-Smith of his innings. 49 balls, including three wild swipes, saw 12 plays and misses.

One hand is struck by two elbows, one by the other. A risky single that Marnus Labuschagne would have had to take home with a direct hit.

His personal best was a 49% false shot percentage, which included the lurches, the gloves’ waves, and the bat’s points, which will never change.

In Australia, Smith’s average for that range is 10.9%. His previous record was 29%, highest anywhere in the world.

Stuart Broad, the former paceman who had played against Smith the most in Test cricket before this week, summed up England’s previous struggles by stating that he still had no idea how to dismiss him.

England bowled a special game to Smith on the first day of the 2025-26 match in Perth, whether it had been planned or not.

Not one of Smith’s 49 deliveries would have hit his stumps, which is the first time England have done that in any of Smith’s Ashes innings lasting 20 balls or more, a drop from their usual 11% figure, partly due to the bounce in the pitch and partly due to England’s selection of quicker bowlers chosen to hit the pitch rather than caress it.

A hangover from the 2019 series was abounding while Jofra Archer welcomed Smith with a bouncer in yet another throwback to the Stokes summer of 2019 with a run of 774 runs at an average of 110.57 as England flicked through from Plan A to Plan F with little success.

However, England’s spell targeted the channel that most Test batters lack: the outside of their body.

At his best between 2010 and 2010, Smith had a 54.5 against balls average, but this year, his average against runs is down to 22 runs per dismissal.

England can concentrate on simplicity going forward, even though the puzzle is not entirely resolved.

After a day of uncharacteristic conversation, Smith should do the same. He still has nine more chances to add to his slew of Ashes victories.

He was uneasy in the spotlight in Perth, perhaps unnerved.