For a batsman of Steve Smith’s lavish talents, a score of 30 was a modest and inconspicuous debut innings in the County Championship. Neither triumphant nor disastrous, it was not a match-shaping contribution, like that of Sussex’s other superstar, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara, who made his second successive century.
But that does not mean Smith’s 79-minute stay was uneventful. Quite the opposite, in fact. Sharing 61 with Pujara, he attracted the attention of the umpires, who informed them that they were wearing helmets that did not comply with ECB regulations, and a 10-minute delay followed. Smith was scoreless then, but was soon punching classy boundaries, through extra cover and off his pads, only to be stopped in his tracks by one of England’s most exciting young bowlers, Josh Tongue.
Across his long and eventful career, Smith has been so animated that his emotions have usually been easy to read and, given his reaction, it would be fair to assume that he would have reviewed the umpire’s lbw decision if this was a Test match. He might have received a reprieve; it was perhaps and high and a little leg-side, but it was no howler.
Tongue will not care one jot. He has dismissed international players before – Hashim Amla and Ross Taylor among them – but this was the biggest scalp of career that is trending up sharply after injury troubles so debilitating that he considered retirement. He added Pujara to his hitlist too, although at significant cost.
At 25, and seven years into his first-class career, he looks to have matured beautifully. Tongue was the outstanding seamer on England Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka this year and good judges in influential positions consider him the best uncapped red-ball bowler on the circuit. He is tall, bowls at a decent lick, and has an easy style that was discomforting Smith even before his dismissal, with a miscued pull and a play and miss.
Once was the time that dismissing Smith confounded England so much that they might have considered parachuting any bowler who had enjoyed success against him into their side for the first Ashes Test. While we may see Tongue in an England shirt at some stage, it feels unlikely to be this summer, because their established bowlers are currently surprisingly fit.
Early in his innings, there were some of Smith’s trademark theatrics, including ostentatious leaves and plenty of fidgets, but his technique is more orthodox these days. He joined Pujara at the crease in just the second over of the day, and it is hard to believe a partnership in Division Two this season will have more pedigree than Sussex’s No4 and 5.
Views on Worcestershire’s live stream ticked up sharply, with global interest piqued by great international rivals, with a combined 49 Test centuries, batting together for the first time, at a beautiful English venue. Unfortunately, soon after they came together, there was a delay, with the umpires showing interest in the helmets they were wearing. A 12th man was ordered to fetch stem guards, the clip-on attachment that protect a batsman’s neck and while the small but engaged crowd waited, they made their frustration known with a few slow handclaps and moans.
Stem guards became common after Phillip Hughes died following a blow on the neck in 2014 but, despite suffering from concussion himself, Smith has not always worn one. In 2019, he described how the additional protection made him feel “claustrophobic”, like “being stuck in an MRI scan machine” and caused his “heart rate to go up about thirty or forty [beats per minute]”.
While they are not mandatory at international level, the ECB’s regulations dictate that all domestic players must wear a helmet with a stem guard. That Pujara should need to be reminded to wear one was more curious, given he is becoming as much a part of the furniture at Sussex as any Hove deckchair.
This is his 12th match for the county, and his eighth century (he has converted all of his half-centuries). Having gently played himself in, by the evening session, with typical ease and elegance, he was toying with Worcestershire’s tired bowlers as Sussex built a first innings lead of 109. Smith had been left in the shade.
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