Steve Smith accuses England of 'very defensive' tactics in the field in Ashes opener
"There were some reasonably defensive fields set so boundaries were quite hard to come by"
Saturday 25 November 2017 11:15, UK
Australia captain Steve Smith believes England took a "very defensive" approach with the ball during the hosts' first innings in Brisbane.
Smith battled his way to an unbeaten 141 as Australia were bowled out for 328, before reducing England to 33-2 in their second innings by the close.
However, the hundred was the slowest of Smith's Test career and he admitted boundaries may be hard to come by if England apply similar tactics throughout the series.
"I thought they were pretty defensive from the outset," Smith told reporters. "It was almost as though they were waiting for our batters to make a mistake. Unfortunately, four of the top batsmen made those mistakes.
"It felt like it was very defensive. It might be a series where boundaries might be hard to come by. They were pretty defensive pretty early."
Smith did acknowledge that the pace of his innings was also dictated by the positions his side found themselves in at various points of the innings.
After recovering from 76-4 on day two, Australia slipped back into trouble at 209-7 before Smith and Pat Cummins shared a vital 66-run stand for the eighth wicket.
"Obviously with the team in a bit of trouble at 76-4, we had to try and bat some time and dig really deep," Smith said.
"It was nice to put on a couple of partnerships with Shaun [Marsh] and Patty Cummins at the end, I thought he played particularly well so we just had to fight, get through difficult periods and just keep batting.
"There were some reasonably defensive fields set so boundaries were quite hard to come by. It was just about getting off strike and waiting for the balls in my areas, being really disciplined and I thought I did that really well."
England captain Joe Root was inventive with his field settings to Smith but the Aussie skipper says he was unfazed by it and simply focused on "playing every ball on its merits."
That attitude saw him reach his 21st Test century from 261 balls and an unusually animated celebration from the 28-year-old.
"It was a bit of everything really. I guess the situation we were in, getting us to where we are now," Smith said in way of explanation.
"It just meant a lot, Ashes series are always huge and as a captain I want to try and lead from the front as much as I can with my performance and the way I bat.
"All of it just came out when I got to a hundred, I had to work very hard - it was my slowest hundred, someone told me - be really disciplined and resilient to get through those periods and get to a position where we are now, it's relatively pleasing."
