Brisbane [Australia], December 13 (ANI): Ahead of the third Test against India in Brisbane, Australian batter Steve Smith insisted he is not out of form, just short of runs, and also spoke about when he might retire from the sport.
With the five-match series level at 1-1, all eyes are on Smith, who has totalled just 19 runs in three innings so far. In the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle, Smith has scored only 757 runs at an average of 31.54, with one century and four fifties in 27 innings. His last Test century came more than a year ago during the Ashes against England.
In seven Tests this year, Smith’s numbers have been even poorer, managing just 232 runs in 13 innings at an average of 23.20, with a single half-century (91*) against West Indies in a losing cause.
Quoted by cricket.com.au, Smith said he told Australia’s batting coach Michael Di Venuto, ‘I said to him, “I don’t feel like I’m out of form–just out of runs.”‘
Smith’s training regime involves a near-obsessive amount of batting to fix current issues or prepare for future challenges. He acknowledged this can be exhausting as he grows older, now aged 35.
‘But no, look, I think the day I don’t want to work out certain problems and try to solve them is the day I will say I’ve had enough,’ he said, reflecting on his future.
He also mentioned his decision not to train the day before the Adelaide pink-ball Test: ‘Last game, for instance, I didn’t train the day before, I felt good. It was a hot day, so I didn’t want to fatigue myself mentally. I wanted to give myself every chance of having enough in the tank to go and hopefully score big, which didn’t happen (laughs). I do that now and then if I feel I’m batting well and have got what I need from my sessions.
‘In an ideal world, I probably wouldn’t hit as many balls as I do in the lead-up. It’s just if I need to feel a bit better about something or work on a certain movement, that last session is necessary,’ he added.
Smith revealed that after Australia were bowled out for 104 in the first innings of the Perth Test, he gathered the batting group together, urging calm and pointing out the missed opportunity to score big on challenging surfaces.
‘I actually said to the boys in the room, “We are playing on some tricky wickets at the moment, and this was an innings where we all missed out together.” Normally we have one or two batters who step up and change the momentum or get through a tough period and put a total on the board. It just happened to be a day where we all missed out,’ he said.
Not since he transformed himself from a spin-bowling all-rounder has Smith experienced such a long stretch without a Test century (12 Tests and 23 innings). He noted that pitches have become more difficult and that the current Kookaburra balls, combined with increased seam movement, make posting big first-innings scores challenging.
‘I’ve played a lot, experienced different conditions, and I know how things have changed from 10 years ago. With these Kookaburra balls and the extra grass on the wickets, you’re not seeing those first-innings totals of 450 or 500 anymore.
‘I’d love to score more runs, but it has been far more challenging for top-order players. Those first 35 overs are as tough as they’ve been since I started playing, no doubt.
‘I even looked at the seam movement averages from 10 years ago to now, and they’ve increased dramatically. That backed up what I was thinking,’ he concluded.
Smith said that to score on these pitches, you need some luck, and for the past two years, conditions have become trickier. He also shared a solution for thriving on such surfaces.
‘While the wickets have been tricky, the players getting runs are often going harder at the ball, giving themselves room and hitting hard to score quickly. Travis (Head) and Mitch Marsh are prime examples.
‘For me, there’s a balance. You have to put the bowler under some pressure and dictate terms a bit, but that can be difficult on such pitches, so you need to find a balance. I’ll just play what’s in front of me. If I feel I need to be more aggressive, I’ll go up a gear. If I need to absorb more, I’ll do that. But I should never stop looking to score; the moment I stop, I’ll miss out on anything loose. That’s just the way to go about it, and I trust myself,’ he signed off.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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