Jamie Smith gets to his maiden Ashes fifty: Key stats
What's the story
Australia have retained the Ashes after an 82-run victory over England in the third Test at the Adelaide Oval. The win comes with two matches to spare, leaving England to face criticism for yet another failed campaign. Chasing a record target of 435 runs, England fell short on Day 5, having been bowled out for 352. Jamie Smith had kept the visiting team's hopes alive with a fine 60-run knock in the fourth innings. Here we look at his stats.
Batting strategy
Smith's aggressive batting and subsequent dismissal
England were reeling at 189/5 when Smith arrived. However, he batted with great intent and played several fine shots. He took England near 300 with a 91-run partnership with Will Jacks (47). When the second new ball was taken, Smith went on the attack, hitting both Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc for consecutive boundaries. However, with the target reduced to 150 runs, he edged a Starc delivery and was caught by Cummins at mid-on.
Match conclusion
Starc rattles the lower order
Starc made another strike to dismiss Jacks for 47. Jofra Archer tried to slog Starc but was caught by Jake Weatherald at deep point, leaving England just one wicket away from defeat. Scott Boland dismissed Josh Tongue, who was caught by Marnus Labuschagne again, sealing Australia's victory in the match and the series. England lost their final three wickets for just 15 runs.
Stats
Maiden Ashes fifty for Smith
Smith batted well for his 60 off 82 balls, a knock laced with seven fours and two sixes. This was his maiden Ashes fifty as his previous scores in this series were 33, 15, 0, 4, and 22. Across 18 Tests, Smith has raced to 1,209 runs at 43.17, as per ESPNcricinfo. The tally includes seven fifties and a couple of tons. 284 of his runs have come in away Tests at 25.81 (50s: 2).