"The last few days I've had the flu" - Steve Smith after batting in Melbourne's sweltering heat on day two against South Africa

Australia's star batter Steve Smith revealed that he was struggling with the flu ahead of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. After battling the scorching heat on Day 2 of the second Test against the Proteas, Smith stated that every two or three runs took plenty of steam out of them.

The right-hander, a highly fanatical trainer, did not participate in Australia's optional Christmas training session to rest for the second Test. He then went on to score 85 off 161 deliveries as temperatures in Melbourne shot up to 38 degrees, exhausting the players repeatedly.

Speaking at the press conference after the second day's play, Steve Smith spoke about the impact of the heat on his health. He also acknowledged how rewarding it was from Australia's perspective, saying:

"I've been pretty crook, actually, the last few days I've had the flu so it wasn't much fun out there. Every time we ran two or three, it really took it out of you.

"I was just trying to suck in a few deep breaths and take as much time as we could in between those those long runs. It was a tough day in terms of the heat but also rewarding."

Despite narrowly missing out on a hundred, Smith said all he wanted was to bat with David Warner as long as possible to get their side in a strong position:

"I'm looking forward to going home to bed, to be honest with you. I was pleased I was able to grind out for as long as I could but I would have liked to have been there a bit longer.

"I wasn't really thinking too much about my score but it was it was nice to have that partnership with Davey to get us in a nice position."

Steve Smith's 85 was overshadowed by Warner's double-ton as the latter broke a century drought spanning almost four years. Warner faced calls for his Test retirement after a string of low scores in the format, including two single-figure scores in Brisbane, but responded in stunning fashion.

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"It was an amazing knock and nice to be up the other end" - Steve Smith on David Warner's innings

Steve Smith and David Warner. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Steve Smith further claimed that the cramp suffered by David Warner during his innings only meant the latter was able to middle more shots. Smith revealed that he kept encouraging his statemate to keep going despite the cramps, adding:

"The more he started to cramp the more shots he started to play and everything seemed to be coming out of the middle. It was an amazing knock and nice to be up the other end for a large chunk of it.

"I was doing my thing and he was doing his. It was just like, 'Keep batting'. He was like, 'I’m cramping.' I was like, 'Good. Just keep going.'"

The pair added 239 before Steve Smith departed, while David Warner retired immediately after reaching his double hundred. The hosts finished Day 2 at 386/3, ahead by 197 runs and in prime position to take a 2-0 series lead.