Updated June 07, 2019 09:59:11

These past 14 months were supposed to form the biggest period of change in Steve Smith's life.

Once Australian captain, he wandered the T20 wilderness, trained alone like a monk, and was supposed to emerge from exile as a new man, ready to be absorbed into an entirely remodelled team culture.

In Smith's second match back, with the score at 5 for 79 against West Indies, the situation on the field hadn't changed at all.

In his couple of years of captaincy, Smith had become accustomed to collapses. Like in Test matches, his team falling for 85 in Hobart while he remained 48 not out. In Colombo in 2016, after he and Shaun Marsh put on 246 before the rest of got bowled out for 112. To pick but two.

So when he looked around Trent Bridge on Thursday in a vital World Cup tie, he must either have felt comfort in familiarity or an unnerving sense of deja vu.

There had been plenty of pre-match talk about a bouncer barrage, but nobody expected Australians to be as susceptible to the short ball as Pakistan had been a few days earlier in getting demolished by West Indies for 105.

Before this senseless, inexplicable act of self-harm, Steve Smith's career was building as potentially one of the greatest in the game.

But David Warner had slapped to gully, Aaron Finch had hung back to a ball just full enough to nick his edge, Usman Khawaja was hit in the grille before backing away and slashing a catch, and Glenn Maxwell failed to get over the bounce while hooking.

At 4 for 38 this was familiar Australian territory. When Marcus Stoinis smacked a not-so-short ball straight to deep square leg to be fifth out, it must have felt just like coming home.

So Smith did what he used to do so often, and dug himself in. Singles, defence. Singles, defence. With the frequency of wides, most of them out of an enthusiasm to continue the short-ball attack, there were always a few surplus runs on offer.

Smith's occasional boundaries were hardly extravagant. A full toss knocked away here, a fielder falling over in the outfield there.

Andre Russell bowled at 150 kilometres an hour for the five minutes before his knees gave out. Oshane Thomas sent the ball down from what looked like six foot eight. So did Jason Holder. So did Carlos Brathwaite. But what else can you say about Smith? The dude abides.

Photo: Steve Smith scored a dogged three-hour 73. (AP: Rui Vieira)

So did Alex Carey. A dasher and slasher who opens the batting for the Adelaide Strikers thanks to his willingness to go over point, at one stage was 3 from 26 deliveries.

Then he took on Thomas for a couple of carved boundaries, attacked Sheldon Cottrell's left-arm pace for a couple more, and zipped up to 45 from 54.

When Russell finally drew a nick from Carey the score was 6 for 147, and the West Indies should still have bowled out Australia for under 200. But Smith's presence at the crease meant that Nathan Coulter-Nile remained calm, squeezing out a couple of boundaries from a good Thomas over to start.

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Smith shook off a blow to the gloves from Thomas, before raising a half-century and his 3500th one-day run. Coulter-Nile grew in confidence, using the top edge at times but also middling a flick over square for six.

In no time Coulter-Nile had bashed his own 50 and taken Australia well past 200, before his first proper life when he was dropped on 65. Smith just played support into the 45th over before deciding it was time to accelerate.

Even then, it took a truly wonderful piece of fielding to send him back. Smith middled a whip shot from Thomas, stepping across and striking it cleanly out to deep backward square.

Thomas' new-ball partner Cottrell was running around from fine leg, laterally to the flat boundary that runs idiosyncratically across Trent Bridge in a straight line rather than a curve.

With no room to move, Cottrell plucked the ball with his left hand as it was going over the rope, ran several strides along the rope with his feet centimetres from touching, tossed the ball up, ran several more strides out of play, then leapt back in to complete the catch.

It ended a century partnership from 88 balls, but Smith had to stop on his way off to watch the replay. It was that good.

Photo: Soldier Sheldon Cottrell celebrated his wonder catch with a trademark salute. (PA via AP: Simon Cooper)

But just as good was another rescue operation for Australia, with the score past 250, and Coulter-Nile set at the crease to carry on. Smith had made 73 from 103 balls, and a broken innings had been saved.

Australia shouldn't have been able to get out of trouble like that, but they had. Australia shouldn't have been able to bowl out West Indies short of 289, but they did.

Coulter-Nile didn't follow up so well with the ball, but Mitchell Starc and Patrick Cummins did that job. So once again, Australia saw a misfiring top order, a scrap with the bat relying on one specialist, and the bowlers joining him to save the day first with bat and then with ball.

For Steven Smith, and for the team that had welcomed him back, nothing had changed.

Topics: sport, cricket, united-kingdom, england

First posted June 07, 2019 08:42:38