Veteran Australian champion Steve Smith has the cricket world in a spin after making a seamless comeback to the game after a two month absence.

Batting for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland, the 36-year-old plundered a brilliant century at the Gabba, sending a loud warning to England ahead of the first Ashes Test.

Not only was it Smith’s first game in two months, he had not picked up a bat for almost six weeks while he was in New York.

Smith looked in ominous touch before he was caught out on 118 (from 176 balls in an innings that included 20 fours and a six), and the interim captain’s work on the front foot — and obvious desire for runs — would have and sent a chill through the England camp.

It took Smith 22 deliveries to get off the mark but after tha

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