Smith Holds Firm as Australia Close in on England’s First-Innings Total at SCG

After the second session of play, England had claimed three out of five Australian wickets but had fallen behind as a result of Steve Smith scoring an unbeaten 50, while Australia added 96 runs to their total.

At tea on Day 2, Australia were at 377-6 in 91 overs. Cameron Green (8 off 13 balls, with the help of one four) and Smith (65 off 115 deliveries, including nine fours) were unbeaten at the crease. The hosts are trailing by just seven runs in their first innings.

At the start of their second session after having 281 from 65 overs and trailing by 103 runs of England’s first innings score, which was 384, Head (162 from 160 deliveries with 244 and 16) and Smith (16 from 39) remain unbeaten at the wicket.

The England side finally got the vital breakthrough it had desperately needed when Jacob Bethell bowled out the phenomenal Australian batter Travis Head for 163 runs in 166 balls with 24 fours and one six during the very first delivery of the 68th over.

Australia continued to pile on the runs and pass the 300 mark during the 70th over. Captain Steve Smith reached his well-deserved fifty in 95 deliveries as the hosts reached 336-4. In the fourth ball of the 84th over, Brydon Carse took the wicket of the retiring Usman Khawaja, who scored a decent 17 runs off 49 overs, which included two fours. Wicketkeeper Alex Care, who came in at number five right after Smith, showed his aggressive side by smashing two back-to-back fours off Carse during the 86th over.

Australia’s score after the Morrison over was now 356 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Just as the English team’s hope looked slim, the pacy Josh Tongue bowled in the eighty-ninth over, producing the vital wicket by taking Alex Carey’s wicket for 16 runs off 13 balls (which included 3 fours) back into the English side’s favour. However, both Smith and Cameron Green ensured that further wicket-takers would not come through. Then, with Australia now only 7 runs behind England’s first innings total of 384, the Barbarians were in a firm position of strength going into day 3.