Joker Smith eager to have last laugh

When Steven Smith made his Ashes debut in Perth during England's victorious 2010-11 tour of Australia he was, following prompting from then captain Ricky Ponting, clear on his role in the team.

"I've been told that I've got to come into the side and be fun," Smith said. "For me, it's about having energy in the field and making sure I'm having fun and making sure everyone else around is having fun, whether it be telling a joke or something like that."

It seemed an extraordinary thing for him to say in public. His words didn't seem to offer much hope of a lengthy career for a leg-spinning all-rounder, particularly one with an unorthodox batting technique, and were duly mocked by England.