The Cricketer looks at the reasons for optimism for the hosts ahead of the second Ashes Test match on Wednesday
It has dominated talk from The Oval to Lord's to every ground around the country. How on earth do you get Smith out? It's the latest unsolvable puzzle, but the latest theory tossed up is his supposed fallibility against left-arm spin.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the former Australia captain's average against left-arm orthodox bowlers lies at 34.9, a steep drop in comparison to his career record of almost 63.
Among that lowly average have been dismissals in five of six innings to former Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath in Australia's 2016 tour of Sri Lanka, while Ravindra Jadeja also snared the 30-year-old three times in a tour of India a year later.
While the tracks Herath and Jadeja were operating on were more conducive to extreme turn than what the Lord's surface may have to offer, it certainly seems there could be something for Jack Leach, who has replaced the underperforming Moeen Ali, to exploit.
A chink in the well-constructed armour? England have statistical reason to believe so.
Smith scored a hundred in each innings at Edgbaston
Jos Buttler's statement at the weekend that Jofra Archer possesses the 'X factor' about him may border on the most common banalities applicable to sportsmen and women, but on evidence obtained from this summer already it certainly rings true.
The 24-year-old got his line and length wrong when the two sides met at Lord's during the World Cup, but that has become a distant memory after his semi-final performance at Edgbaston, where his pace was too much for Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell.
Figures of 6-27 and a century for Sussex second XI was ideal preparation for the quick bowler to offer an added dimension to an England attack which looks in desperate need of freshening up after the injury to James Anderson.
Add to that that Archer was the man entrusted with delivering the duties during the pinnacle of pressure moments during the Super Over of the World Cup final, and England have themselves someone who will not be reined in by Australian chatter, or their swashbuckling batsmen.
He has delcared himself that he cannot work miracles, but this England attack doesn't require that. There is no need for open heart surgery. It is that ability to produce a game-turning spell from nowhere which makes him an attractive option, and despite Justin Langer's comments, Archer has as much potential to grinf the Australians down as the opposite situation.
VISIT THE ASHES HUB
Sending Smith back to the pavilion before he can inflict too much damage was and will be Joe Root's primary concern. But getting him to the crease in the first place has been more of the pleasing aspects.
Opening stands of two and 13 at Edgbaston were representative of the struggles that Cameron Bancroft, who never truly looked comfortable at any stage, and David Warner endured at Edgbaston, with Stuart Broad getting the destructive left-hander cheaply on both occasions.
With the well-known swing and general movement, alongside the added nuisance (or tool) of the slope, at Lord's, the opening duo's woes do not look like easing any time soon.
Bancroft's inclusion has been questioned by certain sections, and should Australia opt for a Marcus Harris to open, there are few places tougher to make your full debut in England than at Lord's.
Anderson may not be on hand to trouble the two that do play, but as the next point explains, they may not miss him in those opening stages as they once may have.
Archer's name has been the one mentioned to provide England with some inspiration. But it may be the 24-year-old's fellow pace bowler who holds a rather ominous record at Lord's, for the Australians that is.
Chris Woakes was, alongside Broad, instrumental as the duo combined to take all 10 Ireland wickets in the one-off Test match at the end of last month. Woakes' 6-17 was a masterclass in persistent line and length bowling and letting the movement on offer aid him in decimating a batting lineup.
Edgbaston may be the official home for Woakes, but the 30-year-old's has scored 274 runs in four matches at an average of 68.50 and taken 24 wickets at 9.75 l in north-west London, according to Sky Sports.
He is one of just a few to feature on all three of the Honours Boards at Lord's, and celebrated his maiden Test century last summer at the ground against India.
The World Cup final may never be topped as his favourite moment as an England player at Lord's, but with the conditions and the aura he has created for himself there, this may just be the lift England need to draw them level in the series.
Woakes second-innings display against Ireland was just the latest in a string of impressive performances at Lords'
When defeat is suffered, it is simple to slip into the negatives that never appear too distant from the largely positive displays that England have put on around the country this summer.
After England had gone 1-0 down in The Ashes at Edgbaston last week, and even before that if truth be told, the view of the World Cup as ultimately mentally and physically draining for the England players was the overriding feeling.
Nevertheless, one of the many positive elements to emerge from a maiden 50-over competition triumph was that when England had to win, they did. Defeats to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia were counteracted by beating India, New Zealand twice, and Finch's side in a four-game winning streak when it mattered most.
The series is not on the line yet. A defeat at Lord's would not be terminal to England's hopes of regaining the urn. But it would make it significantly more challenging to do so.
However, when a situation arose this summer which required an almost-perfect exhibition of the best that Engllish cricket has to offer, it was delivered. There is no reason to push the alarm just yet.
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