The Ashes: Supreme Steve Smith grinds shoddy England into the dust – The Times, Thetimes.co.uk

It was shortly before lunch, Old Trafford and England’s bowlers totally becalmed, when Steve Smith worked a ball into the leg side, scampered a couple of runs to bring up another Ashes hundred and soaked in the adulation of the crowd.  

There were no histrionics of the type that had accompanied his opening marker of the 2017 – 18 Ashes series in Brisbane, when he pumped his fist against his chest repeatedly and contorted his features in an angry grimace. He looked deeply motivated then but didn’t, at that point, look like someone enjoying his success.

Now, he simply removed his helmet, showing the thin blue hairband underneath, and raised his bat calmly to the dressing room. There was a beatific smile on his face, one of…