Smith finishes career same way he started

But two of Smith’s senior lieutenants, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, then frustrated Johnson and the rest of the Australia attack for more than two hours to preserve an outside chance that the captain will not bow out with a series defeat.

There seemed a real danger of the world’s No1-ranked Test team failing to take the match into the final day when they slumped to 15 for three at tea on the fourth day, Michael Clarke having declared Australia’s second innings on 303 for five after David Warner cracked his second century of the match, and his third of the three-Test series.