Australia take control of Test Championship final as Steve Smith sends out pre-Ashes warning

Steve Smith warned Englands batsmen about the perils of Bazball after Australia took control of the World Test Championship final against India.

With Scott Boland making a strong case for inclusion in next weeks first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, India closed the second day on a perilous 151 for five in reply to Australias imposing 469.

That encouraged Smith, who earlier made 121, to suggest Englands aggressive approach could come unstuck in similarly testing conditions against Australias high-class attack.

It wont be easy to defend, let alone come out and swing, he said. When Bazball started, I said I was intrigued to see how it goes against our bowlers. Theyve done well against some other attacks, but they havent come up against us.