Steve Smith not concerned about his lack of runs as Test opener
Published - 15 Aug 2024, 12:20 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:17 AM
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Australia's legendary batter Steve Smith is not too concerned about his lack of runs as an opener in Test cricket. Smith has batted in the middle order, mostly at No. 4, for most of his incredible Test career.
But after the retirement of his fellow Australia teammate David Warner, Smith expressed his desire to open the innings in Tests. The selectors gave him the opportunity but the 35-year-old hasn't made a big impression yet.
Steve Smith has averaged 28.5 in Test cricket ever since he started to open, which is way below his career average of 56.97.
He has faced the bowling line-ups of West Indies and New Zealand as a Test opener so far but will face a stern test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 when he will face a quality Indian bowling attack.
Also read: Jay Shah issues an official statement on BCCI's stance for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Steve Smith not concerned about his lack of runs as a Test opener
However, Smith is not too concerned about his lack of runs as the opener in Tests. He remains optimistic about his position but also adds that he would have loved to score more.
“You’ll have to ask the men in charge but I’m not fussed either way. Some challenging conditions with the new ball, in particular. So I would have liked to score a few more runs,” Smith was quoted as saying by Code Sports.
Steve Smith scored a brilliant 91 off 146 balls in the second innings of the second Test against West Indies at Gabba. This has been the only notable innings by the right-hander so far as a Test opener.
He further remembers this innings and maintains that the opening slot is just a position and has nothing to do with his ability as a batter.
“That’s the game sometimes but I played pretty well in the second innings at the Gabba where we couldn’t get over the line, unfortunately. It’s just a position to me so it doesn’t really faze me too much,” Smith stated.
Steve Smith speaks on the exclusion from T20 World Cup 2024
Talking about his T20 future, Steve Smith expressed his disappointment over his non-selection for the T20 World Cup 2024. But he accepted the selectors' decision to go with big-hitters for the tournament.
"I don’t know about international T20 stuff. You’ll have to ask the selectors there. I was disappointed not to be in the World Cup but that’s the way things go. They wanted all the big hitters,” he added.
“I’d love to be part of the IPL again" - Steve Smith
Smith had a fantastic time in the recently concluded Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA where he scored 336 runs in nine matches at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 148.67. He emerged as the second-highest run-getter of the season.
He was the captain of Washington Freedom for this season and led his team to a title win. The former Australia captain even expressed his desire to play the IPL again.
“I’d love to be part of the IPL again, for sure. I’ll be putting my name in the hat so just have to keep scoring runs. You never know, we’ll see what happens,” Smith added.
Steve Smith will be seen in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 where he will face a high-class Indian bowling attack consisting of the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
