Ashes 2025-26: Australian Steve Smith frustrates England again as he finishes second to Don Bradman

If Smith’s recent lull has been worrying, this knock showcased all his trademark quirks.

He stopped the game when a spectator sneezed within shouting distance of the viewscreen, and twice ended up lying on his back — once with his hands, feet and racket above his head.

The rest of Sydney – fresh, crisp and streaked with pink – watched as Smith finally swung his bat, his shirt covered in dirt.

For someone so great, Smith somehow managed to look ugly.

At another point, Smith berated himself for failing to hit part-time spinner Jacob Bethell for four.

“Oh Steve,” he said. “This is terrible, an absolute drop.”

He showed similar disdain for Matthew Potts when trying to replicate Lleyton Hewitt’s forehand for the keeper in the final hour.

In Potts’ next encounter, he took it upon himself to keep his arms wide to indicate breadth.

Smith – often the butt of jokes – has never seemed bothered by winning over England fans.

“I don’t know that I do that,” he said.

“When I do all those things, it probably means I’m in a good zone.”

“You wouldn’t see it in the textbook the way he plays,” added former Australian batsman Mark Waugh.

“It was a funny innings that extended and flowed. Sometimes he was frantic, then it seemed like he was struggling to concentrate and took off.

“He talks to himself, gesticulates, flips over and stops people at the top of the stands. He gets the job done.”

Bradman’s career tally of 5,028 Ashes and 19 centuries is certainly further along than Smith’s, but although we know Khawaja’s career will be over at the conclusion of this Test, more English pain for NSW cannot be ruled out.

When he walked off at The Oval on the final day of the 2023 Ashes, it felt like a farewell. Smith offered no such certainty.

“It’s a shame that it is [Khawaja] “I’m gone, and now I’m the oldest person here,” Smith said before that test.

“I want to keep playing, I still enjoy it. We have a really good team.

“I’ve been saying for a while that I’ll take it day by day, series by series and we’ll see where it goes.

“I feel like I’m fine at the moment, I’m contributing and having fun, so there’s no real deadline for me.”

He may no longer be the relentless goalscorer of the 2017-18 series, but with his latest achievement in Sydney, Smith has shown he is not done frustrating England just yet.