Steve Smith’s complete dominance over England has gone to a new level with the former Australian skipper scoring another brilliant century in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
Having carved out a brilliant 144 to rescu⛦e his side in the first innings, Smith once again proved a class above an England attack badly missing the injured James Anderson, turning his overnight score of 46 into 142.
Smith completed his 25th Test ton with one of his more aesthetically pleasing shots, driving Stuart Broad between mid-off and extra cover for his 10th boundary in ☂the second over after lunch.
Even the pro-England c💛rowd and 𝐆the Barmy Army withheld their boos to stand and applaud Smith.
The 30-year-old has now become the first batsman to score twin Ashes centuries since Matthew Hayden posted 197 and 103 in Brisbane in the opening Test of the 2002-03 series, and the first in 22 years to achieve the feat in England after Steve Waugh’s 108 and 116 at Old Trafford.
Here’s how the cricket world reacted on Twitter:
The Best Test Match Batsman I have seen … That’s during my time playing & watching the game is … This guy is a genius … !!
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan)
What an absolute genius this bloke is 😍
— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32)
Respect…incredible resilience , skill and above all mental strength. twin 💯‘s
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket)
Century in both innings. After staying away from cricket for long…..hope nobody is booing him anymore. Only appreciation. Applaud. Modern Day Great.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash)
What a way to come back into Test cricket 🏏 Steve💟 Smith keep ꦬgoing!!
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93)
Steve Smith is a grea꧙t player obviously, but more than t𒅌hat, he has incredible mental strength & resilience. He is single-handedly taking this game away from us.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan)
Special Smi🦄th, legendary status for the Aussie 👏 never mind the pressure, this man is familiar with big games 🏏 congratulationsꦫ on another 💯
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh)
Steve Smith: Test bats🦄man: Peerless in his generation.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi)
144 & 1🐻42 in 1st Test over a year for Steve Smith. English booe🌳d and Smith made them cry 😂. Made the bat talk. batted Champion 👏
— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket)
I’ve been fortunate enough to see some pretty decent Ashes knocks up close. These two from Steve Smith, however, are definitely up there with the best I’ve ever seen. 🌸One of the great Test Match performances.
— Ian Bell MBE (@Ian_Bell)
In just 3 days time boos have transformed into a standing ovation. That's what geniuses like Steve Smith can do. Magnificent knock
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7)
The only time Steve Smith acknowledg💎ed the Hollies Stand, walking off for 142.
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam)
Greatඣ fight 🃏back from Aust. Another 100 runs puts them as favourites to win from there.Smith freakish!
— Mark Waugh (@juniorwaugh349)
Well done ..ton n each innings n Test Crkt is a rarity..but coming 🧸at a time when team needs it most is just fantastic..& now fr the contest to become a needle some more effort is required by rest o OZ batting-But how could they leave out & ?
— Bishan Bedi (@BishanBedi)
Two 140+ scores in same Test
150* & 153 – Allan Border v Pak (Lahore) 1980
142 & 199* – Andy Flower v SAf (Harare) 2001
162 & 143 – T Dilshan v Ban (Chittagong) 2009
144 & 142 – Steve Smith v Eng (Birmingham) 2019 – first in an Test— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman)
