Steve Smith Coaches Himself: Justin Langer

Australian batting spearhead Steve Smith might be going through a rare lean patch in the ongoing Test series against India but head coach Justin Langer is confident that the champion batsman will regain his form when he takes guard on his favorite venue- Sydney Cricket Ground- this week.

Smith has thus far managed scores of 1, 1*, 0, and 8 in his past four innings. His downfall has been brought about by a combination of immaculate planning and relentless execution by the Indian bowlers, especially Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah.

But Langer feels that Smith is too good a player to miss out on a consistent basis.

The former Aussie opener claimed that Steve Smith coaches himself and he is confident that the erstwhile No.1 ranked batsman will resolve the chinks in his armor sooner than later.

”Imagine how good we will be when he does start batting – that’s how I look at it. He hasn’t had the best of series so far. He will be the first to admit that. My gosh, what I know about great players, the longer they miss out, the sooner they are coming good again. That puts a big smile on my face. How do you coach Steve? I don’t coach Steve Smith. Steve Smith coaches himself and I am sure he is going to work it out.” Justin Langer said in the virtual press-conference on Tuesday.

“Steve is always hitting a lot of balls. He did a lot leading up to it [MCG Test] but, again, there is nothing, even for the greatest of players, there is nothing that replaces time in the middle. And we know what a great problem solver he is, we know what a great player he is.” he added.

With the series tantalizingly poised at 1-1 and Australian batting struggling against a relentless Indian bowling-unit, Justin Langer will hope that his premier batsmen rises to the occasion at the SCG and stamp his authority on the rubber.

Also Read: The Indian Team Has Been Very Disciplined In The Last Two Tests: Justin Langer