"Statpadding successfully as an opener is not for everyone" - X brutally trolls Steve Smith for getting out for 12 on opening debut

Fans on X wrote eulogies for Steve Smith's Test career after he got out for 12 on his debut as an opener in the format. West Indies' debutant Shamar Joseph got him out with his first ball in the format with a near-perfect fifth-stump length ball.

Smith, opening alongside Usman Khawaja in place of the recently retired David Warner, started the innings in typical fashion. He looked calm and composed and whipped a couple of solid boundaries to mid-wicket.

West Indies introduced Joseph in the ninth over and he pitched the first ball in the channel a few inches outside the off-stump. Most batters would have simply left it. However, for Smith, who shuffles across more than most, the ball was good enough to take a thick outside edge to the third slip for a low catch.

It was not just an underwhelming beginning to a much-anticipated new phase in a great player's career. It was also a general extension of Smith's bad form with the bat. He had a best score of 50 in six innings against Pakistan last month, and this knock pushed his Test average below 58 for the first time since 2016.

Following are the top reactions from X users:

Three overs after getting the opener out, Joseph came on to get the prized wicket of Marnus Labuschagne for 10(25) as well. The right-hander was hurried by a bouncer and hooked it down to fine leg.

Smith and Labuschagne's wickets were Joseph's second big impact on the match

The twin scalps made the Test debut sweeter for the 24-year-old Joseph. In the first innings, he put up a brilliant cameo of 36(41) with three fours and a six while batting at number 11. His 55-run stand with Kemar Roach for the last wicket gave some respectability to the visitors' total score after a middle-order collapse.

At Stumps on Day 1, Australia was at 59/2, trailing West Indies by 129 runs.

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