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Steve Smith rocked in 85-year first amid farcical development around Matt Renshaw

All eyes were on Steve Smith in his first innings as opener for Australia.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·3-min read
Shamar Jospeh celebrates and Steve Smith walks off the field.
Steve Smith's (pictured right) first innings as an opener was dampened with West Indies debutant Shamar Joseph taking a wicket with his first ball as a Test cricketer. (Getty Images)

West Indies debutant Shamar Joseph has dismissed Steve Smith with his first ball as a Test cricketer to put a dampener on the Aussie's much lauded move to opener. All eyes were on Smith on Wednesday after Australia dismissed the West Indies for 188 after Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins ripped through the batting line-up.

For the first time in his illustrious career, Smith opened the batting having taken over from David Warner after his retirement earlier this month. Smith has been keen for the new challenge and the opportunity to carve out more history at Test level, but his much-hyped shift came crashing down at the hands of debutant Joseph.

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Smith was on 12 runs when the fast bowler took the ball after the opening spell. And Joseph delivered with his very first ball. Smith chased the offside delivery and the extra bit of speed prompted him to edge it to second slip.

The West Indies erupted with joy for Joseph having taken a dream debut wicket of one of this generation's best batters. "That will go down in the record books for that young man," Brendon Julian said in Fox Sports commentary. Ian Bishop described the wicket as a 'fairytale' for the young bowler.

Jospeh is just the second West Indian debutant to take a wicket with their first ball in Test cricket since Tyrell Johnson in 1939. Jospeh then took the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne with a classy bouncer caught on the boundary. For Smith, it marks a poor start to his new challenge as opener after still only scoring one half-century this summer.

Steve Smith walks out onto the field.
Steve Smith (pictured) only scored 12 runs on his debut as opener for Australia. (Photo by IZHAR KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Smith's average has now fallen below 58 for the first time since 2016. Smith deserves plenty of time and respect for his decision to move up the order to allow Cameron Green to slot back into the starting XI at No.4. However, many fans felt Smith's struggles might continue up the order after his first experience against the new Kookaburra.

Matt Renshaw development stuns cricket fans

Meanwhile, the decision to allow Matt Renshaw to leave the squad and play for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League this Friday has confused fans. Renshaw was selected to join the Aussie squad for the series against West Indies as the reserve batter.

While many felt Cameron Bancroft should have been in the squad, his selection did cause backlash. And now, Renshaw confirmed he will be leaving the squad on Friday to play the game against the Adelaide Strikers. Cricket Australia later confirmed the news and said Renshaw would return on Saturday morning.

This will leave Australia without a recognised batter in the squad in case they need a concussion substitute. Australia have needed to use two substitute concussions in the past, one in which saw Labuscghange come in for the injured Smith against England in the Ashes. This kickstarted Labuscghange's long-run in the Test side.

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