For an under-strength Australia, Steven Smith's century on the second day of The Oval Test is a heartening sign, given that their biggest gains from this Ashes tour have been Chris Rogers, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin, all older than 30. Malcolm Knox, in the Sydney Morning Herald, says Smith's success is a tribute to one important factor: faith of the selectors.
The selectors might have got it right, eventually. They did not choose Smith in the Ashes squad, or indeed for the Champions Trophy. He was sent around Scotland and Ireland with Australia A, and one of Mickey Arthur's last acts as a selector was to discuss drafting Smith into the Ashes tour. Of the youngsters in the Australian squad, he is the only one to have survived the selectors' flights of imagination and played in every Test match. His success at the Oval is a reward for that rare element in recent selections: faith.
In the Guardian, Vic Marks recalls some of the rebuke Smith faced when he was selected for his first Ashes Test in Perth, two years ago and says the batsman has worked hard to achieve Test success even when people had slotted him as a T20 player.
He was soon signed up for the IPL, whether for the Kochi Tuskers, the Pune Warriors or the Royal Challengers Bangalore. There was every chance that Smith might have gone the same way as a Kieron Pollard or a Dirk Nannes, T20 troubadours for whom Test cricket was a long-lost dream, albeit rather a laborious one.
But Smith has developed a penchant for a red ball and a baggy green cap. His primary role now is as a batsman, who can purvey some occasionally helpful leg-breaks.
While Smith's success may be a cause for celebration, the Test hasn't been a great debut for Simon Kerrigan. Matthew Norman has a few words of consolation for the young spinner in the Telegraph, drawing comparisons with Jeff Thompson, Graham Gooch, Tiger Woods and even Lionel Messi, players who had ordinary international debuts.