‘His dismissal was so un-Smith like…’: Ex-Australia captain Mark Taylor sums up Australia star’s poor Ashes form
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor criticised Steve Smith's form after England staged a comeback in the ongoing Ashes.
England staged a comeback to stun Australia in the 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley in Leeds. The hosts won by three wickets which helped them make 1-2 in the ongoing five-match series. The match also saw Steve Smith fail to have an impact in his 100th Test as the Aussies failed to grab a series-clinching victory.
In the first innings, Smith could only muster 22 off 31 balls, before getting dismissed by Stuart Broad. Meanwhile, in the second innings, he was dismissed cheaply for two runs off nine balls only.
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Speaking to World Wide of Sports, former Australia captain Mark Taylor criticised Smith and pointed out that his dismissal in the second innings was unlike him. In the second innings, Smith was dismissed by Moeen Ali, who got his 200th Test wicket. Receiving a full delivery on the middle stump, Smith tried to aerially hit it but didn't get the elevation as the ball caught the bottom half of his bat and went straight to short midwicket.
"Smith was disappointing in his 100th Test, scoring no real runs. His second innings dismissal was a shock to all of us because it was so un-Smith like, but caught well as he always does", said Taylor.
"He got a couple of starts, but like all of the batsmen, needs to start turning these 30s and 40s into big scores. He knows that, and we all know Test match cricket is won by blokes making big hundreds, not 30s and 40s. He didn't have a bad game, but need more from the top three batters to get big totals", he further added.
Taylor also suggested that the visitors need David Warner to start firing after disappointing in the third Test. The Aussie opener was dismissed by Broad in both innings. "Australia need him to get us off to a start. He looked pretty sound in the first couple of games, particularly that 60-odd he made at Lord's, but he didn't look as good in this game with the bat, no doubt about that", he said.
Despite Smith and Warner's failures with the bat, Australia had some positives to look at, with Mitchell Marsh slamming a ton in the first innings. In the first innings, Marsh clobbered 118 runs off 118 balls, packed with 17 fours and four sixes.
