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Talking points: Steve Smith passes Bradman, another Aussie legend to take incredible Lord's record

Simon Brunsdon and Lachlan Harper

Updated . First published at

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While most of Australia slept, the men's cricket side dazzled in the third session at Lord's.

Apart from the brilliance of Beau Webster and Steve Smith, the first two sessions of the World Test Championship final belonged to South Africa.

Then Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood stood up.

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Kagiso Rabada and Mitchell Starc both took wickets on day one.  Getty

In the lead up to the match, the comparisons between Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins were a hot topic.

James Anderson declared Rabada one of his favourite bowlers to watch and a reporter told Cummins pre-match that the England great rated Rabada above him.

In typical Cummins fashion, the response was "cool, no worries".

Rabada laid down the challenge early with his five-wicket haul but then Cummins answered the challenge with his beauty to bowl Wiaan Mulder.

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That's just one of many talking points from day one. Here's the rest:

Smith surpasses icons to take Lord's record

Australia's "best since Bradman" has done it again.

Steve Smith went past the greatest batter ever in becoming the highest non-English run scorer ever at Lord's - known as the home of cricket.

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Australia's Steve Smith celebrates his half century in the WTC final at Lord's.

Australia's Steve Smith celebrates his half century in the WTC final at Lord's. AP

His 66 on day one moved him to 591 career runs at the famous London venue.

That score pushed him ahead of Sir Don Bradman (551), Garry Sobers (571), and fellow Aussie Warren Bardsley (575) to become the highest run scorer from a visiting country.

Bardsley had held the record since 1926.

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At Lord's, Smith has played six Tests and averages 59.10, including his famous maiden double century during the 2015 Ashes series.

"I found a nice place and I love batting here at Lord's," Smith said following play.

How did Carey fumble that?

He's normally the Mr. Perfect of Australia's fielding team, but Alex Carey showed he's human on day one.

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In the fifth over at 1-8, Wiaan Mulder edged behind to Carey and it was fumbled.

It was so regulation that even in commentary they weren't initially sure what happened.

The replay left them stunned.

Alex Carey drops Wiaan Mulder.  Amazon Prime

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"That is an absolute sitter," Matthew Hayden said.

"Goodness me that's a rare opportunity gone, he's got beautiful hands, Alex Carey's dropped one.

Ravi Shastri added: "He'll be disappointed, for a keeper that's a pretty straightforward catch."

Carey appeared to get his positioning all wrong as the ball rose too high for him while he crouched on his knees.

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Former Indian wicket-keeper, Dinesh Karthik gave the technical explanation.

"Why wicket-keeping can be challenging is exactly the reason Carey dropped it, it's due to the wobble (of the ball), you need to have a still head and have a good base as well and that's where Carey made a mistake, he wasn't balanced," he said.

"When the ball wobbled and held its seam and kept gaining height, he couldn't get his gloves in the right position."

South Africa's review blunders

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Temba Bavuma seemingly made the right call when he won the toss and decided to bowl.

Temba Bavuma addresses his playing squad.  ICC via Getty Images

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith described it as a "brave decision".

But he didn't get everything right and his handling of the reviews was dreadful.

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Bavuma was no doubt unlucky at times.

He rolled the dice in the first session when Steve Smith was trapped in front. Had it been given out originally, the Aussie star would've been walking.

In the 28th over, Marco Jansen was denied by umpire's call again when trapping Beau Webster on the pads.

Marco Jansen's delivery to Beau Webster.  Amazon Prime

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Then came the shocker.

An over later, Kagiso Rabada hit Webster on the pads again. It was a half-hearted appeal and not reviewed.

Bavuma suggested he hit it.

However, the replay showed Webster whacked his bat into his back pad and missed the ball.

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Ball tracking technology then showed the impact was in line and the ball was hitting the stumps. Webster was on 8 at the time. He scored a vital 72 in the end.

Beau Webster survived an lbw shout.  Amazon Prime

Later, at 4-129, another lbw review came with Webster on 23. This time going upstairs was a bizarre call, with the replay showing Webster middled the Lungi Ngidi delivery.

"The reviews have not been the best part of their play today," Ian Smith said.

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Beau Webster middled an lbw appeal.  Amazon Prime

When Alex Carey strode to the crease and faced his first ball there was another appeal.

He tried to sweep Aiden Markram and was hit on the front pad. The ball went awfully close to his glove too.

Evidently, ultra edge showed it hit the glove before the pad.

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Ultra edge shows Alex Carey gloved the ball.  Amazon Prime

What to do with the top order?

We're only one innings into the new opening experiment but so far it hasn't worked.

Khawaja couldn't get off the mark from his 20 balls and 1-12 quickly became 3-46.

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Cameron Green was batting in his new position at No.3 and scored 4 while Marnus Labuschagne failed to set the world alight with his 17 off 56 balls.

Labuschagne has come under fire for his lack of intent at the crease during his form slump and Kevin Pietersen put the spotlight on exactly that during his innings.

"It's quite frustrating to watch … he has the ability to hit the ball," he said on Amazon Prime.

"I just think it's a mindset. He has the ability, he has the eyes, he has the technique ... batters are out there to score runs."

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The Aussies love referencing sample sizes, so we're no doubt going to get two samples of Labuschagne at the top of the order in this match.

What he does in the second innings could have a big bearing on the tour of West Indies as Sam Konstas waits in the wings.

Interestingly, Ravi Shastri revealed a statistic on the coverage around the openers from both sides after Aiden Markram departed for a duck.

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The final is the 563rd Test match in England and the first ever time the No.1 batter from both innings' has been dismissed for no score.

Perhaps an insight into how tough batting conditions were on day one.

"The game carries on and on and new things happen," he said.

'It feels like a home game out here'

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Those were the words of Rabada as he walked off the ground following his five-wicket haul.

It'll be interesting to see how this Test progresses in terms of crowd behaviour.

Steve Smith is politely applauded as he walks off the ground at Lord's.  Getty

No doubt Australia are public enemy No.1 when it comes to playing in England and Lord's has some recent history.

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They're not a side that gets too flustered by the outside influences but as this Test goes on, the support for South Africa will likely only grow. So far, it's all been rather dignified.

How long until the sandpaper jokes come out?

Who's the most famous Aussie in the crowd?

It's not just the action on the field that will bring conversation.

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ICC chairman Jay Shah was present for day one and rang the bell.

Jeff Thompson (left) at the World Test Championship final.  Amazon Prime

Aussie great Jeff Thompson was spotted in the crowd and women's captain Alyssa Healy was watching on from the stands.

But the biggest name was Ange Postecoglou.

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Ange Postecoglou watches on at Lord's.  Getty

Getty's snappers spotted him in the crowd in his first public outing since he was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur.

After spending time in Greece holidaying with his family, Postecoglou's back in London.

What's next for him?

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