Baby-faced Steve Smith shines on gloomy day two of first test at Adelaide Oval
Batsman, 25, racks up unbeaten 162 alongside skipper Michael Clarke, who hits 128 after pain-killing injections in injured back
Grimacing and wracked with pain, Michael Clarke built a century which outweighed his 27 others as rain on Wednesday added to the sense of pathos hanging over the first cricket test between Australia and India.
Clarke made his gritty knock after pain-killing injections in his injured back and his baby-faced batting partner Steven Smith also offered hope of a brighter future.
The skipper's 128 - his 28th century in tests, his 17th in Australia, his seventh against India, his seventh at the Adelaide Oval - joining with Steve Smith, who made a career-best unbeaten 162 to lead Australia to 517-7 when bad light ended play on the second day.
Every hundred is nice and, hopefully, I’ve got a few more this summer
More than anything, this was Clarke’s first century since the death of Phillip Hughes, and it had to be achieved by the submission of physical and emotional pain.
Clarke set himself the task of achieving a century in Hughes’ memory and, after watching David Warner (145), then Smith precede him to the milestone, found the courage to honour Hughes as he wished.
As a player for South Australia, the Adelaide Oval was Hughes' last home ground before his death at 25, on November 27. The rain that hung over the ground on Wednesday, delaying the start by 10 minutes and forcing lengthy delays three times before ending play in gloom an hour after scheduled stumps, added to the sense of pathos and mourning.
It contributed, also, to a mood of expectancy as first Smith, then Clarke approached their centuries.