Grin and tonic for Steve Smith

Steve Smith stripped of the Australia captaincy and given a yearlong ban for his part in the Sandpapergate incident now heads into his 100th Test following a fine hundred at LordrsquosLong the target for taunts from English crowds the star batsman insisted ldquoIt doesnrsquot bother me Everyone is entitled to their opinion I know the person I am I know how I want to go about things I am out here playing my game and for my countryrdquoEngland head coach Brendon McCullum PicsGetty ImagesAustralia can expect to face a firedup England and a furious crowd in the third Ashes Test at Headingley starting Thursday as the row over Jonny Bairstowrsquos divisive dismissal at Lordrsquos rumbles onControversial seriesBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese have even traded verbal bouncers over the issue which started when Jonny Bairstow was given out stumped by opposing wicketkeeper Alex Carey during what the England batsman thought was a break in playBairstowrsquos exit in a match Australia won by 43 runs to go 20 up in the fivematch Ashes despite England captain Ben Stokesrsquos stunning 155 sparked a chorus of boos at a normally sedate Lordrsquos and led to three MCC members being suspended for allegedly abusing visiting players in the pavilionAlso Read Kane Williamson surges to top of Test rankings Steve Smith slips to secondTo add fuel to fire the third Test is taking place at Bairstowrsquos Yorkshire home ground with increased security measures expected at Headingleymdashtraditionally one of English cricketrsquos most raucous venues Many within the Australian game have been stunned by the vehemence of English reaction to a legitimate dismissal and the attempts to link it to their sidersquos Sandpapergate balltampering controversy in South Africa five years agoPat Cummins bidding to become the first Australia skipper in 22 years to win an Ashes series in England said the fallout from Bairstowrsquos dismissal could galvanise the tourists as much as the home teamldquoThese kind of moments can really strengthen a siderdquo he said ldquoHe Carey has been fantastic behind the wickets Wersquoll look after himrdquoOnly an Australia side inspired by batting great Don Bradman have come from 20 down to win a Test series taking the 193637 Ashes 32 However the corresponding Headingley Ashes clash four years ago saw Stokesrsquos stunning unbeaten hundred guide England to a remarkable onewicket win and coach Brendon McCullum said ldquoWe believe that we can still come back in this seriesrdquoEnglandrsquos bowling worryYet for all the angst over Bairstowrsquos exit Englandrsquos poor position owes more to their failure to exploit helpful bowling conditions after winning the toss at Lordrsquos and a firstinnings collapse from 1881 to 325 all out that featured several reckless shotsVeteran England spearhead James Anderson Test cricketrsquos most successful pace bowler has taken just three wicketsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever