DHAKA: Australia batsman Steve Smith's purple patch with the bat continued when he struck his maiden double century during the second day of the Ashes Lord's Test on Friday.

He achieved the feat in 336 balls. He justified his status as one of the world's best batsmen as he smashed his sixth hundred in last eight Tests, his 10th overall, NTDV sports reported.

Smith became the third Australian batsman to post a double hundred at Lord's and first since Bill Brown -- 206 not out in 1938.

He went on to score 215 before being dismissed by Joe Root, falling short of breaking Sir Donald Bradman's record of 254 in 1930.

England paid the price for Ian Bell's costly drop of Smith on 50 on Thursday as the Aussie hit 25 fours and a maximum in his 346-ball innings.

Tear-away pacer Mitchell Johnson, who now aims at complimenting Smith's brilliant knock to put Australia on level terms after losing the Cardiff Test, showered praises on the world No.2 batsman. "I've seen him since he's first started...I'm really proud of what he did," Johnson said.

The 26-year-old Smith also became the first batsman in 18 years to register a double hundred in an Ashes Test in England. Nasser Hussain had scored 207 at Birmingham in 1997.

Smith's knock was the seventh-highest individual Test score at Lord's, a list headed by former England opener Graham Gooch's 333 against India in 1990.

Graham Gooch (England) 333 vs India in 1990, Graeme Smith (South Africa) 259 vs England in 2003, Bradman (Australia) 254 vs England in 1930, Sir Wally Hammond (England) 240 vs Australia in 1938, Jonathan Trott (England) 226 vs Bangladesh in 2010, Rob Key (England) 221 vs West Indies in 2004.

BDST: 0831 HRS, JULY 19, 2015
RS