'Turning point', Smith sledge sparks Overton

Given England had been searching far and wide for a way to get Steve Smith out, their decision to hand Craig Overton a Test debut at the Adelaide Oval was pretty much vindicated partway through the opening day of the second Magellan Ashes Test.

At 23 years of age, the Somerset seam bowler was thrown in at the deep end during this first-ever men's day-night Ashes Test after he was preferred to Jake Ball, who by almost universal agreement had a shocker in the series opener at Brisbane.

Overton’s maiden Test wicket of Smith with his first delivery of the final session was memorable not just because he swung the ball in to rearrange the Australia captain's stumps – albeit via an inside edge and his pad - but also because it was the first time Smith had been bowled in a home Test since New Zealand’s Trent Boult did so in November 2015.

It was the end of a long road back for Overton too, his ascension to Test cricket in the biggest series of them all coming just two years after he was reported to the England & Wales Cricket Board’s discipline commission for using racially insensitive language to opposition player Ashar Zaidi during a County Championship match against Sussex in September 2015.

It was an accusation Overton denied and although he was cleared of the more serious racial charge, he was found to have used abusive language and banned for two matches after racking up his third offence in a year.

That proved a turning point, with Overton cleaning up his act on the field with the help of Somerset coach Matt Maynard and psychologist Abbie Kench.

Speaking at the start of this tour, Overton admitted: "I’ve calmed down the last couple of years and I think what happened has made me realise you can’t go on acting like that.

"It’s matured me a little bit and I’ve moved on from that. It was a massive turning point. It was not just that incident but the whole summer where there were a few instances and it is just making sure that I switched on because that’s not how you behave on a cricket field.

"That’s one thing I’ve learned with my psychologist – you can’t act like that and I’ve found ways of dealing with it.

"I don’t want to lose the edge, it’s just finding the right balance and not going too far.

"There’s times I do still push it a bit and then the older guys in the side say 'just keep it in check'. But it’s definitely less often now, which is good."

The results have been plain to see, with his 46 wickets for Somerset during the last County Championship season earning him a seat on the plane to Australia.

Now, having claimed Smith as his maiden Test scalp, Overton is coming to terms with the enormity of his achievement.

"It was disappointing not to play in Brisbane last week, but with an Ashes series you know you’re not going to pick the same four seamers for the whole series," he said on Saturday night.

"It’s massive. My dream as a kid was to play for England and to play in an Ashes Test in Australia makes it even more special. It was nice my parents were here to see it. Hopefully I’ve made them proud – I think I have."

Smith’s unbeaten first-innings 141 proved the difference between the teams at the Gabba and for Overton, his first Test wicket proved even more satisfying after revealing he had been sledged by Australia’s captain shortly before he got him out.

Image Id: AEE4ACA431F64F61A64CEB11093C0CDF Image Caption: Smith looks back to see his stumps disturbed // Getty

"He was saying I was slow so it was nice I beat him for pace – that was good,” said Overton.

"It was a pretty nice one, he’s one of the best players in the world so to get that one to start with was great."

Overton now has a chance to build on a promising start, with his first challenge being to perform well enough to keep Ball out of the team for the third Test in Perth later this month.

He has a good start but there is still a long way to go.

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21