Smith show after Bairstow bravado

PERTH, December 15 

Jonny Bairstow kept his head with a fine century for England but Steve Smith showed a captain’s poise to guide Australia to 203/3 at the close of Day 2 of the third Ashes Test on Friday. Smith was on 92 at stumps, with Shaun Marsh on seven, and the home side, already 2-0 up in the five-match series, just 200 runs short of England’s first innings total. Bairstow reached his ton, his first in Ashes, just before lunch, pushing England to 403, their highest innings total in Australia since the fifth Test of the 2010/11 series.

England’s joy was tempered, however, by the runs that went begging. They lost six wickets for 35 in a sudden collapse late in the morning session, leaving the door open for Australia. Smith opened it wider with an innings of typical poise, anchoring a 124-run partnership with Usman Khawaja (50) after seamer Craig Overton removed openers David Warner (25) and Cameron Bancroft (22).

“I think the game is evenly poised at the moment. Tomorrow’s a big day,” Khawaja said after his 10th Test half-century. “We talk about it in golf a lot — third day, moving day.” 

England may need to contain Smith and Australia with an injury cloud over third seamer Overton. The bowler clutched his chest following a delivery after tea and came off the ground after receiving attention on the field. Promoted up the order to No. 6, Bairstow shared a 237-run stand with centurion Dawid Malan, the highest by an England pair at the WACA and the team’s best fifth-wicket partnership ever in Australia. It took a stunning catch by substitute fielder Peter Handscomb to break the stand, as he dived full-stretch at backward point to remove Malan for 140, with spinner Nathan Lyon forcing the shot.

Malan’s dismissal triggered a breathtaking collapse, as Bairstow’s batting partners fell quickly around him. Pat Cummins (2/84) had Moeen Ali caught by Smith at first slip for a duck, and all-rounder Woakes was caught in the deep for eight off Josh Hazlewood (3/92). Starc (4/91) ended Bairstow’s 215-ball innings by ripping out his middle stump with a sizzling ball and combined with Hazlewood to clean up the tail. — Reuters 

Scoreboard

England (1st innings) 

A  Cook lbw b Starc 7

M  Stoneman c Paine b Starc 56

J  Vince c Paine b Hazlewood 25

J  Root c Paine b Cummins 20

D Malan c sub b Lyon 140

J Bairstow b Starc 119

M Ali c Smith b Cummins 0

C Woakes c Cummins b Hazlewood     8

C Overton c Bancroft b Hazlewood   2

S Broad c Bancroft b Starc 12

J Anderson not out 0

Extras: (b-10, lb-2, nb-1, w-1) 14

Total: (all out; 115.1 overs) 403

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-89, 3-115, 4-131, 5-368, 6-372, 7-389, 8-389 , 9-393, 10-403

Bowling

Mitchell Starc 25.1-5-91-4

Josh Hazlewood 28-9-92-3 

Pat Cummins 28-8-84-2 

Nathan Lyon 22-4-73-1

Mitchell Marsh 9-1-43-0

Steve Smith 3-1-8-0 

Australia (1st innings) 

Bancroft lbw b Overton 25

D Warner c Bairstow b Overton 22

U Khawaja lbw b Woakes 50

S Smith not out 92

S Marsh not out 7

Extras: (b-2, lb-4, w-1) 7

Total: (for 3 wkts; 62 overs) 203

Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-55, 3-179

Bowling

James Anderson 14-6-31-0

Stuart Broad 12-2-50-0

Chris Woakes 15- 3-42-1 

Craig Overton 10-1-46-2

Moeen Ali 11-3-28-0