'Truly unbelievable': Steve Smith betters Bradman with insane Ashes feat

Steve Smith has left the cricket world in awe, becoming just the eighth batsman in history to score twin centuries in an Ashes Test.

Smith and Matthew Wade's centuries have given Nathan Lyon an ideal platform to bowl Australia to victory at Edgbaston, where England will enter day five in survival mode after being set a target of 398.

Smith's 142 and Wade's 110 were the highlights of a fourth day of dominance from Australia in Birmingham, where the visitors put themselves in the box seat for a comeback victory of epic proportions.

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Smith's year in exile has failed to quench his insatiable appetite for runs and records.

Smith, who scored 144 in Australia's first-innings' total of 284, led the way for his side again on day four in Birmingham by moving to three figures in the second over after lunch as the tourists extended their lead to more than 140.

The New South Welshman become only the fifth Australian to register centuries in both innings of an Ashes Test when he hit a boundary off Stuart Broad's bowling.

He joins an illustrious list comprising Warren Bardsley, Arthur Morris, Steve Waugh and Matthew Hayden.

Not even the great Sir Donald Bradman notched twin tons in an Ashes Test, fuelling claims that Smith is the best batsman since the Don.

Smith, whose overall Test average moved past 62 on Sunday, provided countless fodder for statisticians to research and revel before the Cape Town cheating scandal.

The former skipper looks set to continue that trend in England during coming weeks.

Smith has already snatched one record, edging past Mark Waugh's mark of 199 for most runs in an Edgbaston Test by an Australian.

The talented batsman, who dominated the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia, has also become the second player to pass 50 in six consecutive Ashes innings.

Celebrating hundreds in each innings of a Test is one of few achievements which had eluded Smith prior to his suspension.

"It's the Steve Smith show again," Shane Warne said in commentary on Sky.

"It really is amazing to watch him play.

"If you bowl anything resembling a bad ball, he'll hit it to the boundary. It's the sign of a good player."

His 25th Test hundred came in just 119th innings. Only Bradman (68 innings) achieved that feat faster.

Smith now also has the most Test runs of anyone in history after 119 innings (6845), beating the record held by England’s Wally Hammond.

Aussies on verge of remarkable victory

Tim Paine, whose quick-fire 34 compounded Joe Root's misery, eventually declared at 7-487 after forcing England to toil for 112 overs.

Lyon was handed the new ball and created some nervous moments but England survived seven tense overs to be 0-13 at stumps on Sunday.

Smith and Wade made the pitch look remarkably flat in a 126-run stand but Lyon should prove more potent and composed than counterpart Moeen Ali, whose figures of 2-130 included two no-balls for beamers.

"It's obviously going to be a day-five wicket and it started pretty dry from the outset," Smith said.

"There is quite a lot of rough that hopefully Gazza can exploit.

"Day-five wickets normally have some tricks in them. Hopefully we can see the ball going up and down a bit."

Batting coach Graham Thorpe backed England to salvage draw and keep the series locked at 0-0 heading into next week's second Test at Lord's.

England haven't batted out the final day of a Test since the dramatic 2009 Ashes opener in Cardiff, where Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar held on in a final-wicket partnership.

"It is a fifth-day pitch and they have a very good spinner in their attack. We have to have the belief," Thorpe said.

Showers were initially forecast for Monday but the latest update suggested there should be little rain to help the hosts.

England have only chased more than 300 to win an Ashes Test on two occasions, with their overall best effort being a target of 332 that was hauled in at the MCG in 1928.

The venue-record chase in Birmingham is South Africa's pursuit of 281 in 2008.

STEVE SMITH'S ATTACK ON THE RECORD BOOKS:

*10. Ashes hundreds. Smith is now equal second, alongside Steve Waugh, for most Ashes tons by an Australian. Sir Don Bradman tops the list with 19 centuries.

*71.52. Smith's average since celebrating the first of 25 Test centuries at The Oval in 2013. The right-hander's overall Test average is 62.96 (Bradman's 99.94 is the only higher mark).

*140-plus, twice. The only other Australian to have registered two scores of 140-plus in a single Test is Allan Border (150no, 153 v Pakistan, Lahore 1980).

*286. Smith's tally from his two innings at Edgbaston is the biggest mountain of runs that any Australian has compiled in a Test at the venue. Graeme Smith (362) holds the overall record.

*2312. Smith's runs from 24 Ashes Tests. The only Australians with more runs in the showpiece series are Bradman (5028 from 37), Border (3222 from 42), Waugh (3173 from 45), Clem Hill (2660 from 41), Mark Taylor (2496 from 33), Ricky Ponting (2476 from 35) and Neil Harvey (2416 from 37).

AUSSIES WITH TWIN ASHES TONS:

* Warren Bardsley - 136, 130 - The Oval, 1909

* Arthur Morris - 122, 124 not out - Adelaide, 1946-47

* Steve Waugh - 109, 116 - Manchester, 1997

* Matthew Hayden - 197, 103 - Brisbane, 2002/03

* Steve Smith - 144, 104 not out - Birmingham, 2019.