Ashes: Australia top order did the job, says David Warner

That was in 2013. It is not as if the batsmen are on top either.

He walked on the field to a standing ovation from a capacity crowd and through a guard of honour from the England team.

Smith, meanwhile, offered a typical batsman’s response.

“It’s obviously hard to bat when the ball in swinging and seaming, and I think that’s probably one of the things we’ve experienced over here in the (Ashes) series“, Clarke said just hours after the urn was effectively lost on a horror first day at Nottingham.

“They were good“, said Hodgson. Certainly he seemed intent on making one here.

“We’ve got an interesting winter, we’ve two real tough places to go, but if you’re looking at the balance of our squad then I think we’ve got a real opportunity to go there and play well in those conditions”. But his hand-eye co-ordination is so sharp that he is seldom out that way.

Even though Warner’s dismissal was not due to aggression, the left-hander was nevertheless fuming at falling 15 runs short of his first century in England. But he rediscovered his bearings around off stump, and his former fluency, and followed Rogers, who had clocked 2,000 Test runs, by posting 3,000 of his own. Smith started on 78 not out, and stayed there for the first half-hour, right through the first seven overs of the day.

From his mine of information, the Test Match Special scorer Andrew Samson produced the statistic that not since the Perth Test of 1979 had an Ashes Test gone so long before the first boundary had been hit – but, in the 15th over, both Rogers and Warner did so.

England fast bowler Mark Wood defended his captain’s decision to choose to bowl after winning the toss. It brought up Australia’s 300.

The fourth-wicket stand eased to 146 before England eventually made a breakthrough, Ben Stokes jagging one back into Voges and pinning him plumb lbw on the back foot. Batting in England, like the cricket season itself, is a matter of rhythm. He bobs his knees, once, twice, steps across, waves his bat like he was about to use it to cast a fly into a trout stream, and then, snap, he swings.

Australia captain Michael Clarke accepted there would be no storybook ending to his global career but said he still hoped his side could salvage a win.

Smith turned, furious with himself, and stalked off towards the pavilion.

The timing of Clarke’s announcement led to accusations that he had tried to make what should have been England’s day “all about him”, a criticism that was aired when he confirmed he would be quitting one-day internationals on the eve of Australia’s World Cup final triumph against New Zealand earlier this year. Reprieved, Smith returned, and resumed. The incoming captain snapped a streak of four single-figure scores since his 215 and 58 at Lord’s.

Stokes joined the pulling misadventure, caught-behind off Marsh. Smith was so busy watching the ball that it was a little while before he thought to celebrate.

“A couple of nicks didn’t carry, we just didn’t get the wickets, now we’ve got that second new ball round the corner”.