Neil Wagner’s bumper attack has done to Steve Smith what Bodyline did to Don Bradman

Neil Wagner’s sustained short ball war against Steve Smith has not completely ended his threat, but has ensured the game is not being played on Smith’s terms. And post-Ashes that is some achievement.

Neil Wagner celebrates Steve Smith’s wicket for the third time in three innings.

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When England unleashed Bodyline on Don Bradman they never sensed it would destroy him – they just wanted to make him human, vulnerable and relatively manageable.

Bodyline did this – Bradman averaged 56 in the series, great for anyone else but about half of his potential against other nations.

The same thing is happening with Neil Wagner’s clever, sustained and precise short ball war against Steve Smith.

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Wagner snared Smith for the third time is as many innings in the series at the MCG.

All have been to short balls, the first two were pull shots and the third to a ballooned catch to gully after a rushed defensive scramble.

Neil Wagner celebrates Steve Smith’s wicket for the third time in three innings.

Smith has made scores of 43, 16 and 85 so he is being restricted rather than rubbed out.

But when he faces Wagner something strange is happening – the game is not being played on Smith’s terms and this is a rarity.

Generally, Smith is the master manipulator who sucks bowlers into his scoring zones.

This time it is he who is doing the adjusting.

Wagner had a big moment just before he dismissed Smith when he had him ducking into a short ball which fleetingly ended up in the palm of Smith’s hand.

The world was watching this Test to see whether Smith would again unleash the pull shot against Wagner but he left the shot it in the shed against Wagner on the first day.

Smith did put on 84 before fending one away to the slips.

Off the first 54 balls he faced from Wagner he scored just 14 and did not play a shot in the air.

Bodyline did to Bradman what a more mellow brand of Bodyline tactics have done to Smith – made him change his game and deny him free-scoring rhythm.

To his credit at the MCG Smith batted without any ego whatsoever.

He absorbed the challenge, stern as it was, and contracted his game accordingly. There was never any sense he would compromise his wicket by turning it into a chest pounding exercise.

Cricket teams across the globe will have watched Wagner’s tactics and noted his success.

The interesting post script to this series is whether his plan becomes everyone’s Plan A against Smith.

“I can bowl 135kph like Wagner – I can do that,’’ could be the excited cry from every international quick who can bowl a hoop down a hill.

But be warned boys. It’s harder than it looks.

The shorter a bowler delivers the ball the less control he has over it but Wagner has spent his fast bowling life perfectly the midriff seeking missiles that have challenged Australia’s top order.

He is an exceptionally skilful practitioner.

Make a mess of the plan and you will feed Smith’s strength.

The challenge for all Australian batsmen is deciding whether to play the pull shot.

Travis Head has decided not to. Tim Paine does so on impulse.

Smith is somewhere in between, for now and potentially the rest of this series and beyond.