Australia v New Zealand Boxing Day Test match report: Steve Smith takes charge at MCG
Steve Smith's unbeaten half century, his first of the summer, has put Australia in a commanding position after the first day of the second Test against New Zealand, whose decision to bowl first had looked a fair call before the world's best batsman dropped anchor.
Steve Smith’s logic-defying MCG record threatens to steal the second Test and the series from New Zealand after he defied a renewed short-ball assault to put Australia in the box seat on Boxing Day.
When the batting genius walked off the ground at stumps, having arrived to boos from the masses of Kiwis in attendance, he was undefeated on 77 and took his average in his last six Test innings in Melbourne to an astonishing 624.
He’s only been dismissed once in that time, once in the 1113 balls he’s faced in his past four MCG Tests.
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His love affair with the cricketing cauldron, with Australia 4-257, could spell disaster for the Kiwis after captain Kane Williamson won the toss and put the Australians in to bat hoping to exploit a grass-topped MCG pitch.
A first-over corker from pace spearhead Trent Boult skittled Joe Burns’s middle-stump and gave the visitors hope their first Test in Melbourne for 32 years could have been one to remember.
The expectant crowd, determined to play their part in New Zealand’s first Boxing Day Test for 32 years, roared with an Ashes-like fervor.
But then David Warner (41) and Marnus Labuschagne (63) blunted a ball which "did a bit” on the heavily scrutinized, and well received, MCG deck before Smith proceeded to problem solve his way to a 27th Test half-century.
Smith arrived at the MCG knowing what the Kiwis would do, having been out twice in Perth to short-pitched stuff which the visitors decided was a weakness.
Australian coach Justin Langer has said several times however that a major part of Smith’s genius was that he was the “best problem solver in cricket” and his net sessions before Boxing Day were the proving ground for his own way of dealing with what was to come.
Smith demanded Australian batting coach Graeme Hick pound him with short-ball throw-downs so he could get in the groove when the real test came.
Apart from a couple of early body blows trying to avoid some mid-pitched work from his Perth tormentor Neil Wagner, which resulted in an argument with the umpires about what he was trying to do, Smith seemed unfazed by the telegraphed bowling plans.
With two fielders under Smith’s nose, a leg gully and two catchers behind square Smith opted to sway out of the way of the balls going over his head, or flat batted the ones he had to hit to the ground
“Our batting plans are very individual and guys are accountable for that,” Aussie captain Tim Paine said pre-match of the expected onslaught.
No-one is more individual than Smith and no-one loves batting more than him, especially at the MCG, so he was in no hurry either.
Former Test star Mike Hussey told Fox Cricket that Smith had “taken the ego out of batting” and was prepared, as per his daily desire, to just bat and bat, to wear the Kiwis and their one plan down.
When he got to 39, Smith enhanced his growing legend too, moving past Greg Chappell to become to 10th highest Australian run-scorer of all time, finishing the day with 7149 career runs.
No-one still above Smith averages close to his mark of 63. Every player above him needed at least 100 Tests to score more runs than Smith has in just 72 matches.
He won’t go to ninth on that list in Melbourne, still 274 runs behind David Boon on 7422.
But every run he scores on day two will still be a dagger to Kiwi hopes of their best Boxing Day Test in three decades.
Originally published as Australia v New Zealand Boxing Day Test match report: Steve Smith takes charge at MCG