Following David Warner’s retirement from Test cricket, there has been a lot of confusion as to who will now open batting for Australia. Now in the southpaw’s absence, star batter Steve Smith has stepped up to take the opener’s spot. However, Global Ambassador and former Proteas great Graeme Smith is not happy with this decision.
There is no doubt that Steve Smith is a wonderful batter. But opening for Australia, is it the correct decision? Graeme Smith doesn’t believe so. The Proteas great believes that Smith will need time to adjust to the new role and thus he can be exposed to the new ball.
“The same goes for Australia and David Warner. Those types of players are like an engine room in terms of energy and the intensity. He comes with an immense amount of experience, travelling around the world and knowing what it requires to be successful playing in other people’s backyards, which is not easy,” said Graeme Smith.
“He was the guy that took the game on and was able to apply pressure onto opposition attacks from the word go. When you lose a player like that, the pressure shifts to other people. How that impacts the team is always interesting to watch,” Smith added.
Steve Smith Not perfect as Opener?
Now that Warner is gone, Steve Smith is set to open in Tests against West Indies. It is expected that Smith will pair with Usman Khawaja at the top of the batting order. It remains to be seen as to how Smith now fairs on his new role. Graeme Smith has put his trust on Steve Smith to adjust but is worried about the time that it will take for adjustment.
“Steve Smith is clearly keen to open, but I’m surprised that Australia have opted to give him a crack against the West Indies later this month. He’s an incredible player, so you would expect that he’d be able to adapt, but I worry that the new ball will potentially expose him to too much,” Smith concluded.
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