It is simple for England: get Smith out or lose

Theroar Joe Root let out when he reviewed correctly to dismiss CameronBancroft shortly after David Warner nicked off was guttural andinstructive. The England captain had got the big call right and they hadtwo in a hurry. After a horrid collapse before lunch, and an imposingstart for Australia, England were suddenly back in the day with CraigOverton looking more dangerous by the delivery.But the fate of thehours to come was always going to rest on how they went when the nextguy walked out, Root’s opposite number, Steve Smith. “Buts” don’t comebigger in international cricket. When he gets it right, and so often hedoes, Australia almost always win. Only two of his 21 centuries havebeen reached in losing teams – and England can’t afford to lose here.It’s binary. Get Smith or get stuffed.From the moment the homecaptain walked out he batted in a manner that suggests he gets this,too. He is fully aware of his role as the main character in every storythese sides write. In the series opener, his job was a shock absorber;to exhaust the England bowlers. Here it was different. A higher-octanecontest required a high-tempo innings to heap scoreboard pressure backon to Root. Especially after England left so many runs behind with thebat.So he went to work. Two thumping off-drives came inside thefirst 10 deliveries he faced. The first time Overton gave him anopportunity he repeated the stroke. A fourth strike came before tea. Tothe extent that Smith was in control was highlighted by the last ball ofthat session when Overton got it to spit before smashing into Smith’sthumb, head and rolling towards his stumps. Yet he had the presence ofmind to get his stinging hand back on to the bat to parry away the ballfrom the woodwork. For Root, it must have been as ominous as any of thedrives. Nothing was breaking Smith’s concentration.In the space of24 balls, the complexion of the game had changed. Smith was on one – andeveryone knew it. Wisden’s editor, Lawrence Booth, formerly of thisparish, put it best shortly after the interval. “Can anyone look nailedon for a hundred with 63 runs still to go?” he tweeted.In the spaceof a spell, Smith made Stuart Broad look a spent force. Afterdisdainfully pulling for six, he middled him past point off the balls ofhis feet like it wasn’t one of the hardest shots in the game. Off thepads he clipped with immaculate timing to the rope once more. Then forhis final trick he adjusted midstroke to a bouncer that didn’t get up,bisecting two fielders. He flashed a knowing grin in response. Broaddidn’t.Neither did Root. He knows the deal. Smith probably remindshim of himself on the days when he is playing by different rules to therest. When Usman Khawaja was on 32, he didn’t get a hand to a chance atsecond slip. Related to what the Australian numero uno was up to?Surely. Smith responded by bringing up his half-century – in 58 balls ifyou don’t mind – by launching into another cover drive.At the finaldrinks break, an interview with Smith appeared on the big screen wherehe described his century in the corresponding fixture in 2013. It wasthe knock that changed it all, the moment where he proved to himselfthat he could really do it. Three boundaries in a row followed thebeverage. Then a deft late cut. This was history repeating itself on theWaca Ground.With stumps looming, he put it away. The ton can waitfor day three. But one last run took Australia to an even 200 behind,his stay successfully redefining the terms of reference for the contest.“He’s the sort of guy when he gets into a rhythm you don’t want tobreak it up,” Khawaja said at stumps. “More impressive is how Smudgebats in terms of the margin for error when you bowl to him is so little,as the English found out today.”They sure did. The lesson for Rootthrough his side’s final intervention of the day, Woakes trappingKhawaja a couple of overs after being brought into the attack, was thatthey can make the game move fast, too. Smith showed him how it’s done.Now it is his move. They can change the course of the match.