Never Doubted My Ability: Steve Smith on ‘Dream Comeback’ to Tests

Steve Smith returned to Test cricket with two centuries in the first Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston.

Steve Smith scored centuries in both innings of his first Test since the ball-tampering scandal.

(Screenshot: AP/SNTV)

The last time Steve Smith had played a Test match, things were a lot different from what they are now. He was still captain, and one without a tarnished career.

What followed is no hidden secret. In fact, it’s a reality that will always stay with the Aussie cricketer. But also one, that Smith toiled hard to come out of, evident in his performances since making his comeback.

The latest of those being Smith’s return to Test cricket – he scored a 144 in the first innings of the Ashes opener against England, rescuing Australia from oblivion. He followed that up with a 142, which set his team on course for a victory push.

“I’ve never doubted my ability but it’s kind of a dream comeback in a way. To be able to score two hundreds in a match in the first Ashes Test match, it’s something I’ve never done in any form of cricket in my life so it’s incredibly special. And it’s special to put us in the position that we’re in now going into day five.”

Steve Smith

In his first Test since being removed as Australian captain and banned for a year for his part in the ball-tampering scandal, Smith scored his 24th and then 25th Test ton, making him only the fifth Australian – and the first since Matthew Hayden in Brisbane in 2002 – to register twin tons in the same Ashes match.

Speaking about his preparation going into the game, Smith said, “I wasn’t hitting the ball as well as I would have liked at the start of the week. And I made sure I put in the hours to find my rhythm and my groove. Going into day one, I felt in a really good place and I was ready to go out and play.”

“As I said before, I’m pleased to have done what I’ve achieved over the last four days and being able to put the team in a really good position going into the last day it’s a sort of, over-the-moon, what-dreams-are-made-of kind of thing,” he said.

Completing his year-long ban, Smith made his comeback to the sport with the Global T20 Canada, then played the Bangladesh Premier League and was also handed Rajasthan Royals’ captaincy midway through the Indian Premier League. The big return, however, came on the big stage – Smith played for Australia for the first time since the ban in the World Cup. He hit four fifties, scored 379 runs in 10 innings and finished as his team’s third-highest run-getter.

“When you’re out in the middle, it’s easy to block all that stuff out. I’m just there and I’m playing the game and doing what I love. I got myself in a nice headspace today where I really wasn’t thinking too much other than where the field was and where they were trying to bowl to me. Just hitting the ball or leaving the ball, just playing the game. Fortunately, it worked out today.”