Steve Smith is claiming all the chocolates

Throwing the bat in the second innings might have been good for Steve Smith’s waistline and it is probably for the best.

Steve Smith plays a shot to the offside during his innings of 82 in the second innings of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford Picture: AFP

Throwing the bat in the second innings might have been good for Steve Smith’s waistline and it is probably for the best.

It would be a bad look for the batsman to put on weight when all but one of his teammates are on starvation rations.

Every time Smith gets a century he rewards himself with a big block of chocolate, which he consumes in his room that night. It is a trick he learnt from dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes, who did the same if he had a big game of football.

He has had three this series, including the family block double hundred in this Test.

Smith’s 82 on the fourth day was an uncharacteristic innings. With a declaration pressing he played a range of creative strokes to keep the scoreboard moving. Another batsman might have noodled around a little more given it would have been his fourth time into chocolate territory. The only other time he fell short was his 92 at Lord’s after the blow to the neck that resulted in a delayed concussion.

Smith averages 64.81 and his consistency in the Ashes contest is extraordinary. He has 671 runs from five innings in this series and nine consecutive half centuries against England.

Few have earned even the small crumbs from his chocolate reward. Only Marnus Labuschagne, who came into this series as a substitute for the felled batsman, has shown anything resembling his reliability. The young batsman peeled off a trio of half centuries before being trapped LBW for 11 in the last innings at Old Trafford.

Live stream the India v South Africa T20 Series with KAYO SPORTS on your TV or favourite device. Get your 14-day free trial >

That Australia has put in its best performance in England since 2001 is down to two batsmen — one extraordinary and one consistent — neither of whom has played every Test.

The others have not shown up or at best played one-innings walk-on roles. Matthew Wade earned himself a block of chocolate in the second innings at Birmingham.

The healthy position the Australian team finds itself in is down to Smith, Labuschagne and the pacemen, in particular Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

England too have also been propped up by the contributions of a couple of players. Rory Burns has been consistent at the top of the order, Ben Stokes was extraordinary at Headingley and Stuart Broad has been brilliant in the absence of partner James Anderson.

It is no coincidence this is a contest between the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams in world cricket. Neither outfit is uniformly strong; indeed both are sporting cricket’s equivalent of a comb-over. After Smith, Stokes, Burns and Labuschagne the next best-performed batsman is Joe Root, who has three ducks and an average of 30.

Opening partnerships have been a disaster for Australia — not once have both batsmen been in the middle after the fourth over. David Warner is trapped in a nightmare where Stuart Broad knocks him over for fun. The English bowler has 6-32 in their individual battle this series. Smith says Warner has sought counsel.

“He’s admitted himself Broad’s had the wood on him throughout this series and he’s been talking to myself and Justin (Langer) and Graeme Hick,” Smith said.

“I think about ways he can play. He’s tried a couple of different ways and they haven’t quite worked, but Davey’s a quality player and hasn’t had a great deal of luck, hopefully he can turn it around ... at the Oval.”

Warner has 79 runs at an average of below 10 in the series — the worst of all the Australians. His two partners are in similar trouble. Cameron Bancroft had 44 runs at 11 before he was dropped and Marcus Harris 46 at 11.5.

It is hard for Australia to make a change given Bancroft has done nothing to prove himself since and Usman Khawaja, batting at No 3 before this Test, was averaging just over 20 when he lost his place.

Travis Head (191 at 27), Wade (201 at 25) and Tim Paine (158 at 23) have had sub-par series.

Australia could draft wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey in from county cricket as they did in the tour match preceding this game but it would mean meddling further with the order. So Warner and Harris will probably survive because there is no better option.

“It’s been tough on the new ball for both sides,” Smith observed. “The ball’s probably done its most when it’s new. When it gets a little bit softer it doesn’t do quite as much, it gets a little bit easier.

“They’ve bowled pretty well with the new ball. They’re both particularly good bowlers to left-handed batters, Broad and Archer.

“It’s not been easy for Davey and Marcus … Their opening bowlers have been too good for the boys early on at the moment. Hopefully things can turn around in the last Test match.”

P31