Former Australian opener Justin Langer slammed England’s wicket-keeper Jamie Smith’s shot selection after the right-hander was dismissed by part-timer Marnus Labuschagne. Smith was looking good after scoring 46 runs and he was stitching a crucial alliance with Joe Root.

Smith decided to take the attack on but could only find Scott Boland in the deep on the offside. Root and Smith had already added 94 runs but Smith gave away the advantage by playing a reckless shot.

“What I do know is not for the first time in this series, Jamie Smith has played one of the dumbest shots you’ll ever see in Test cricket. He was lucky earlier; he had a very soft dismissal off a no-ball to Cameron Green. Test cricket goes for five days; this is dumb cricket. Marnus Labuschagne is pumped,” the former Australia coach, Justin Langer, said on air.

Brett Lee, the former Aussie quick, didn’t mince words either. “The golden arm strikes again! Marnus Labuschagne just bowled bumper after bumper after bumper – at 129km/hr – but it’s effective. His 14th Test wicket – and this would probably be his favourite. It’s a rank bumper outside off stump, but what was he doing? What was Jamie Smith thinking? It was a poor shot. It’s a filthy shot,” he said.

Former Australian batter Simon Katich also took a dig at Jamie Smith and England’s Bazball approach. 

“He’ll go in the dressing room now and probably get pats on the back for taking the game on,” he said on SEN Radio.

Alyssa Healy, another Australia great, questioned Smith’s shot selection. “There is one man in the deep in front of point on the off-side, and he (Smith) has picked him out. I know this is the way they (England) play and the way they want to approach it, but you cannot honestly tell me he’s going to walk back into that change room and be patted on the back.”

England were bowled out for 384, whereas Australia ended the second day’s play at 166-2, trailing the visitors’ total by 218 runs.