He was unsure if he would be able to play cricket again.
Steve Smith was welcomed to Edgbaston by boos from the crowd. He didn’t let this affect him as he went on to score 144 from 219 balls in his first Test match following his year-long ball-tampering suspension. The Brits will resume batting on the second day of the first match with 10 for no loss and will try to make do without James Anderson who injured his right calf muscle.
The Aussies were able to score 122 for 8 before the tea break. Afterwards, Smith helped score 162 runs in the last two wickets while also scoring his 24th Test century. During his celebration, he felt his love for the game come back to him.
“It’s been a long time coming but I’m sort of lost for words. I’m just really proud that I was able to help pull the team out of a bit of trouble… There were times throughout the last 15 months where I didn’t know if I was ever going to play cricket again. I lost a bit of love for it at one point…,” said Smith.
England bowler Stuart Broad also achieved 100 Ashes wickets. “Ashes cricket is the pinnacle, especially with my family history,” he said. When asked about Anderson, he said that “...he feels he’s let the bowling group down but he hasn’t – niggles are part of bowling.”
The Ashes have officially begun and the two nations - England and Australia - will surely give their all. To find out more about The Ashes, visit Betwala's page.
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