Steve Smith has declared his debut in the Hundred tournament as "fun," but it didn't appear a barrel of laughs for him to be thoroughly eclipsed at Headingley by a couple of Ashes batting rivals.
Smith, who hopes his long awaited bow in English cricket's premier white-ball tournament could help him cement a place in Australia's T20 plans and eventually lead to Olympic gold in Los Angeles, made a decent bow for the Welsh Fire.
Put in to bat by the Northern Superchargers on Thursday evening in Leeds, he scored 29 off just 18 balls and enjoyed a brisk 62-run opening partnership with old Ashes foe Jonny Bairstow.