Mission possible: is this how you get Steve Smith out? | Rob Smyth

England will put their faith in two bowlers who did not play at Edgbaston – Jack Leach and Jofra Archer – to cause the imperious Australian batsman a few problems at Lord’s

Jack Leach might have played at Lord’s anyway, given Moeen Ali’s loss of confidence, but a stat doing the rounds during the first Test at Edgbaston certainly helped his cause. Steve Smith has a Test average of 35 against orthodox left-arm spin; against any other type of bowling he averages 70. The stat needs to be qualified – he struggled against the great Sri Lankan Rangana Herath on some viciously turning pitches – but equally it cannot be ignored. And the disparity is becoming more pronounced: CricViz stats show that, since May 2016, Smith averages 22 against left-arm spin and 96 against the rest.

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