Steve Smith has been an important cog in the Australian national team setup, and the batter once again showed why he is someone who can be relied on in tough times.
Australia were 67/4 at a stage when Smith and Beau Webster, stitched up a partnership that helped the Aussies reach a decent total of 212 in their first innings.
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Smith hit his 42nd Test century yesterday, that too in a difficult time when batters on the other end were finding it hard to time the ball properly. It was the Australian's 18th 50-plus score in red-ball cricket at Lord's, which continued his love affair with the iconic venue.
Australia might have been unhappy after their performance with the bat, but their bowlers made sure that they were still in the game.
Mitchell Starc picked up two wickets, while Josh Hazlewood and skipper Pat Cummins bagged a wicket each to put themselves in a good spot as South Africa finished on 43/4 after Day 1.
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What did Steve Smith say?
Smith feels that his side are in a 'good spot' after Day 1's play against South Africa at Lord's. Smith batted really well for his 66(112) before edging to the slip cordon off a delivery from Aiden Markram. He was well supported by his compatriot Beau Webster, which took the score above 200 for the Aussies.
South Africa were kept in check by the Australian bowlers, as they are still behind by 169 runs with 6 wickets in hand on what seems to be a difficult pitch to bat on.
Speaking in the press conference post the day's play, Smith said, "I think we are in a good spot, we had a few missed opportunities with the bat to try and get a bigger total. The wicket offered something all day, but we are in a pretty good position, 169 in front and they’re four wickets down."
Smith is hopeful of the fact that the pitch would behave in a similar way like it did in the early hours of Australia's innings. He further mentioned that he loves batting at the Lord's but felt he could have done better regarding his dismissal.
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"Hopefully, it does a bit in the morning like it did today. It could have been a better day, but we’re in a decent position. I felt good out there, I felt in a nice place. I love batting here at Lord’s and I enjoyed my time out there while I was out there. I left a few in the shed, unfortunately."
He also acknowledged that the wicket was quite tricky to bat on, due to its two-paced nature, which made it difficult for batters who did notget their eye-in.
"It felt quite tricky, it felt like wicket was doing enough all day. It was two-paced, at times it was slow and then at others it zinged through. When I got out, I felt like the ball was softer but the wicket still offered something and hopefully tomorrow is the same."
Smith and co. Would be looking to continue the momentum they had gained with the ball in the last session of the day's play, as they look to bundle out South Africa well below their registered score.