AUSTRALIA'S imperious position at the beginning of Day Two of the MCG Test has been rattled by England.

After going from hero to villain yesterday, debutant Tom Curran dismissed captain Steve Smith, chopping on, for his first Test wicket, triggering a middle order crumble.

Is there drama in store?

BELOW: follow all the action from day two of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG

'Freak' Smith chasing Bradman record

JIMMY Anderson is yet to crack the Steve Smith code, admitting it will take either an unplayable delivery or uncharacteristic error to dismiss the world's best batsman.

"When someone is in that sort of form you have to hope for a mistake or hope you bowl a ball that's good enough to get rid of him," Anderson said.

Smith, who will resume on 65 when day two of the fourth Ashes Test starts, continues to build a case he is Australia's best batsman since Don Bradman.

At stumps on Boxing Day, Smith had scored 434 Test runs at the MCG since his most recent dismissal at the venue.

The skipper went to sleep on Tuesday needing nine more runs to make it 500 for the series, during which he's averaged 163.66 and peeled off two man-of-the-match centuries.

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The record for most centuries in an Ashes series - jointly held by Bradman with Englishmen Wally Hammond and Herbert Sutcliffe - is four.

It would be no surprise if Smith joins them at some point in the next fortnight. - AAP