Smith shines in drab finish to MCG Test

A combination of a flat, turgid MCG pitch and yet another hundred from Australian captain Steve Smith thwarted England’s attempt for victory on day five of the Boxing Day Test on Saturday (December 30). Although a draw is less than England would have wanted from this match, they can content themselves with a better performance and they have at least avoided a third 5-0 whitewash in ten years.

Needing eight wickets for victory at the start of the day and still leading by 61 runs, England only managed to dismiss two home batsmen as Australia batted out the day with relative ease on a pitch which offered the bowlers nothing. By the close, which came 15 overs early after Smith and England captain Joe Root shook hands on the draw, the home team were 263-4 with their captain unbeaten on 102.

It was a magnificent feat of concentration, stamina and determination from Smith who batted all day. His innings lasted 275 deliveries in all and added to his hundred in Brisbane and double century at the WACA. He now has 604 runs in the series at an average of 151. Today, he found good support from David Warner (86) and Mitchell Marsh (29 off 166 balls) but it was Smith’s innings which ensured Australia remain unbeaten against England in their last nine home Tests against them.

England toiled manfully all day but this pitch – a drop in – was totally unsuitable for Test cricket. It wouldn’t have been suitable for a timeless Test. It is usually flat at the MCG – this was only the third draw since 1997 – but this surface was totally devoid of pace or bounce and failed to disintegrate to any noticeable effect. On the final day, barely a ball misbehaved and only 24 wickets were taken in the five days. If Test cricket is to endure, pitches such as this need to be scrapped.

England did take two wickets in the first session which gave them a sniff – briefly – of victory. During a pedestrian first hour, neither Warner nor Smith looked troubled apart from one loose poke outside off-stump from Australia’s captain. Warner reached his slowest Test half-century from 161 balls although he gradually picked up his scoring rate with boundaries through the off-side off Tom Curran and Moeen Ali.

It was a surprise, then, when he was dismissed with 40 minutes of play remaining before lunch. Root had brought himself on to bowl and brought the field up. Warner, sensing an opportunity for runs, attempted to heave him over the leg-side but the ball just hit a spot of rough and the ball came off a leading edge to be caught by James Vince at cover. After being so disciplined, it was an ungainly dismissal.

England got another soon after when Shaun Marsh was dismissed on the stroke of lunch. Stuart Broad got one to jump off a good length to kiss the edge and Jonny Bairstow did the rest, taking a quite brilliant one handed catch to his left behind the stumps. It was made an even better catch because, due to the slowness of the pitch, England’s wicket-keeper was standing so close.

That left Australia 178-4 at the break and England with a chance of victory but the tourists failed to get another wicket. They took the second new ball, tried over and round the wicket, attempted full and short bowling, tinkered with fields but nothing worked on this turgid surface. There was barely a chance or even an appeal in the final two sessions. James Anderson and Broad bowled tirelessly in 30 and 24 overs respectively but not even these masters of reverse swing could get much in the way of movement.

Moeen bowled just 13.2 ineffectual overs in the day, an extremely low workload for a spinner on a fifth day pitch, but struggled to find any sort of turn or bounce or even consistency. He has only taken three wickets in this series and is surely in danger of losing his place for the fifth and final Test in Sydney next week. An indication of Moeen’s form was that he had four men on the boundary to his bowling during the first session. When Root came on to bowl, he had none.

Smith thwarted everything England could throw at him and reached his 23rd Test hundred 40 minutes before the close. He simply refused to countenance defeat for his team and led, as he always does, from the front. This may be a dead rubber but there was no easing up in Smith’s determination. He eschewed any extravagance and only hit six boundaries, camping himself on the back foot for most of his innings, playing late and straight. Smith was quite simply content to block all day.

So too was Mitchell Marsh who proved once again his development as a Test match batsman in a disciplined and controlled innings. Only once, when driving at Broad just after lunch, did he play loosely but the ball fell just short of James Vince at backward point. Marsh and Smith’s partnership was worth 85 and it ensured Australia head to Sydney undefeated in the series. England may not have won either, but they too will head to the SCG in decent spirits.