Steve Smith as adept at saving Ashes Test matches as he is winning them

After Australia lost 3-11 under brooding skies at Lord’s, even darker memories of Trent Bridge 2015 were evoked. Until, that was, Steve Smith took charge, his gritty stand with Matthew Wade averting potential calamity.

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Steve Smith is transforming his game to mask Australia’s top-order frailties – and the result is taking the superstar to extraordinary new levels.

For the third time this series, Smith came to the crease with Australia in a crisis.

Across nine excruciating overs, Australia’s first innings advantage fell to pieces as they lost 3-11 in 40 minutes.

And then, as it often does, the responsibility fell to Smith – not to win the Test, but just to get Australia to lunch.

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Smith and Matthew Wade, his new partner at the crease as the score slumped to 4-71 following Travis Head’s exit, couldn’t win the Lord’s Test in those 34 minutes.

But it could’ve been lost.

Steve Smith ducked, weaved, blocked and left his way to lunch in a chanceless half-hour spell.

Australian cricket fans should need no reminding that Stuart Broad can rip through a line-up so quickly that the entire innings fits into a tweet – and Friday morning, under leaden skies, very much had a 2015 Trent Bridge vibe about it.

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“We talked about it before the series, the key to doing well over here is to not have a disastrous session,” said Australian Ashes icon Steve Waugh.

“You’re going to lose some sessions but just lose them closely not by a big margin.

“When you lose a couple of quick wickets there is potential to lose five, six or seven and in the Test match you’re going to struggle to come back from that.”

Not for the first time England’s bowlers were unable to find a way to breach Smith’s defences.

And so Steve Smith did as he’d done in Birmingham, staring England’s fast bowling enforcers in the eye and – by way of theatrical leaves that amused fans and experts alike – put a hefty price on his wicket.

He took 119 balls before reaching his half-century to a wall of boos at Edgbaston, his fourth slowest rate at passing 50 in his Test career.

Should he reach that mark again at Lord’s, it could well be in the same range: at stumps on Friday Smith was 13 from 40 balls with a crawling strike rate of 32.5, while Wade is yet to score after facing 23 deliveries.

“We hung in there really well,” Waugh added.

“That was a crucial partnership. If we lost a couple of more wickets there it could have been a tough session.”

But the slow starts aren’t hurting Smith – or Australia.

Once he reaches 50 balls, it’s essentially game over: from there, according to CricViz, he averages an astonishing 140.52.

England bowled well to Smith on Friday – far better than they did at Edgbaston – but the 31-year-old showed extraordinary patience and discipline to stop their latest and greatest plans.

Smith put a high price on his wicket to stem the flow of dismissals and steady the Aussie ship.

“With world class players you always have to adapt to the conditions that are in front of you, and conditions today at Lord’s suggested we should bowl six of our best balls and question their outside edge,” said England quick Stuart Broad.

“You could see he was looking to leave so we could maybe have tightened up our lines slightly.

“He just adjusts to what fields you set and what pitch there is. He’s a brilliant batsman at finding the gap.”

Originally published as Steve Smith as adept at saving Ashes Test matches as he is winning them