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Ashes: Centurion Steven Smith praises Australia bowlers

Smith praises Australian bowlers after scoring 143. Fast bowler Finn admits England under-performed.

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Steven Smith and Andrew Voges
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Centurion Steve Smith praised Australia's bowlers after they reduced England to 107 for eight in the first innings to set up a victory bid in the fifth and final Ashes test on Friday.

Smith made a patient 143 to lead his team to 481 all out before England collapsed, losing seven wickets in the final session on the second day to give Australia an excellent chance of claiming a consolation win having already lost the series.

"That's the best we've bowled all series, we created pressure and made them earn their runs. We got eight wickets so it speaks for itself," Smith told reporters. "There's enough there in the wicket if you hit the right spot."

Smith's six-hour knock provided the backbone of Australia's total, signalling a return to form for the prolific right-hander who has struggled in the last two matches after rising to the top of the world rankings.

"I was disappointed not to get more runs in the third and fourth tests but pleased to get some today," said Smith who will take over from Michael Clarke as captain after this series. "You can leave balls on length here. I couldn't get in a real rhythm for my first 20 runs but the more time you spend out on this wicket it gets easier."

England fast bowler Steven Finn, who took three wickets, said his team did not perform well enough.

"It is not an attitude thing. We had the right attitude. Our preparation was as good as all the other tests but some of our execution was not as good as we would have liked it to be," he added.

"People will go to their hotel rooms and reflect on what we could have done better today and tomorrow we will do that because as a team we do not want to finish on a bum note. We want to look at each other in the eye and say I gave everything and fought as hard as I could."

Finn was philosophical after thinking he had Smith caught by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler for 92, only for the batsman to be recalled because of a no ball.

"I can't blame the umpire for no balls," he said. "It is something for me to sort out."

England lead the series 3-1. 

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