In the ongoing second-day match of Australia vs England, Australian veteran Steven Smith was clean bowled by English pacer Matthew Potts with an in-swinging delivery.
Steven Smith came in to bat at No. 4 for the Aussies after the fall of early wickets of openers Head and Short. It was then Potts bowled his perfect good-length delivery that sharply bent in towards the right-hander. Smith, in an attempt to play a straight drive, missed the line of the ball as his stumps rattled and were left wide open.
This also reignited the famous dismissal of Australian captain Ricky Ponting from Gabba back in 2002. It was over two decades ago that Shoaib Akhtar bowled a similar ball that pitched around off and took the top of the off-stump as Ponting attempted for his landmark flick shot over mid-wicket.
Though Steve Smith is a real legend of Aussie cricket, his white-ball form has been a major concern for a long now, as a result of which he was also dropped from the team that went into the T20 World Cup 2024. Now, he seems to lack form in the longer white-ball format as well.
Australia in a strong command over England in the second ODI
England is hosting Australia for a five-match ODI series ahead of the Champions Trophy, and the first match has already gone in favour of the Aussies. As England created history with a series sweep over Aussies in white-ball cricket back in 2018, the Australians have been one-sidedly dominating since then in the format.
The first match marked a splendid inning from Travis Head as he broke the long-standing record of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for the highest number of runs while chasing in an ODI game in England against England. Rohit previously had scored 137, while Head surpassed him with 154- his highest score in ODI cricket.
The second ODI saw the Aussies bat first as they suffered a collapse, though Marsh and Carey helped them pose 270 with their responsible half-centuries. The Aussie pacers have resisted the England as they are 81/5, with Starc, Hazelwood, and Hardie among the wickets, and England now seems struggling with a very low score.
Jamie Smith and Jacob Bethell are the only last recognized batting pair left for England. Australia are likely to win and make it 2-0.
