'Don't nick a part-timer' - Steven Smith gives hilarious response on being dismissed by Aiden Markram in WTC Final 2025

Australia batted first to kickstart the World Test Championship Final 2025 as South Africa won the toss and elected to field at the Lord's in a cracker-jack of a contest between the two heavyweights of the red-ball format. The decision paid off instant dividends as the Proteas managed to take two early wickets in the opening session on Day 1, but in came veteran batter Steven Smith to bat at No. 4.

The right-handed batter started to keep the things stable from his end, but the other end saw wickets tumbling at regular intervals, with the scorecard reading 67 for 4 after 23.2 overs, which is when Travis Head was sent packing by Marco Jansen. The Sydney-born, however, held the fort strong and pulled the Aussies out of massive trouble. However, his inning was cut short on just the fourth delivery bowled by off-spinner Aiden Markram, a part-timer.

Markram got Smith to edge the ball to Jansen stationed at first slip, and the batter was obviously gutted to have gotten out to a part-timer after batting for 112 deliveries, scoring crucial 66 runs in the process. As the first day came to an end, the 35-year-old appeared at a press conference and gave a cheeky response, which left everyone in splits.

The reporter asked, "Is there anything you learnt from your lesson today that you might do differently when you get a bat in the second innings?"

"Don't nick the part-time off spinner (chuckles). [The ball was going] Down the slope, I'm still trying to fathom how I've done that. But, yeah, don't do that. Just play what's in front of us and, might take a bit more spin as the game wears on. It's pretty dry. I don't know, the seam might go down as the game goes on as well, potentially. So I think the bounce is going to be variable throughout the game as we've seen already on day one. So, yeah, hopefully we can get a few early ones in the morning and sort of go through them and have a bit of a lead. That's the ideal scenario for us right now," Smith replied hilariously.

Check the video of Smith's hilarious reply

Post the New South Wales batter's dismissal, Australia got some late blows from the blade of Beau Webster, who top-scored for them with 72 off just 92 balls. But lack of support from the tail-enders meant the reigning champions were bundled out for just 212 in the first innings. Kagiso Rabada was the best bowler for the African side with his magnificent five-wicket haul that broke the back of the Australia's formidable batting line-up.

Captain Bavuma aims to take Proteas out of trouble

In reply, South Africa had a pathetic start to their innings, having lost four of their batters already with just 43 runs on the board. Skipper Temba Bavuma (3*) and David Bedingham (8*) will resume the innings on Day 2, as the first-time finalists still trail by 169 runs. The pace troika of Mitchell Starc (two wickets on Day 1), Josh Hazlewood (one wicket on Day 1) and skipper Pat Cummins (one wicket on Day 1) will be looking to provide early breakthroughs in the morning session of the crucial second day as well.