Stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith said he enjoyed leading the team once again and that too in a winning cause on Monday as the hosts crushed England by 275 runs in the second Test to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series in Adelaide.
Australia removed the remaining 6 English wickets by the final session on Day 5 to stretch their unbeaten record in day-night Tests to 9 wins in as many games. The visitors got bowled out for 192 in the final innings despite stiff resistance from Jos Buttler (26 off 207 balls) and Chris Woakes (44 off 97 balls).
Jhye Richardson was the pick of the Australian bowlers, claiming 5-42.
“I wouldn’t say nervous, Buttler showed some resistance, he’s normally a bit of a dasher, but plenty of time and we thought a couple of good balls, a couple of wickets.
“I had fun this week, enjoyed it, and the guys played well. Davey (Warner) and Marnus’s partnership set it up, so we could control the game.
“A special mention to Starc, who has bowled as well as he’s bowled in a long time, and he’s led the attack really well. I think he summed it up quickly that it wasn’t swinging and he was just hitting a good length and attacking the batsmen,” Smith said after the match.
