Ever since Ricky Ponting was demoted from the number three batting position in the Australian Test team, Australia has been looking for a replacement.
Well, I believe we have our man to fill the large shoes of Ponting.
The man is front and centre for Australia at the moment, scoring a mountain of runs and is even filling in as a captain for the injured Michael Clarke.
His name – Steven Smith.
Smith has shown time and time again over the last 12 to 18 months that he has all the unique qualities that are essential to becoming a great number three.
He has a tight technique, meaning that it is very difficult for any bowler to get through his defence. This also means that he has soft hands and doesn’t go too hard at the ball, meaning that he is more likely to get out lbw, or caught behind by the wicketkeeper or in the slips.
While this may suggest a weakness in his game to the uneducated follower, it actually suggests a strength of playing fast bowling well, a skill that is required to become a great number three. However, there is a lot more required to become a great in that position.
You need strong and most importantly mobile footwork, the ability to play just about every shot in the book extremely well, the ability to score runs quickly and the undeniable hunger to post big scores, whether the going is easy, or whether the going is tough. This type of hunger says to everyone that you want to be out there in the tough times as well as the good.
Steven Smith has all of these qualities.
As well as these qualities, he is also extremely fit and healthy compared to other past, present and future contenders for the number three spot, something which would guarantee stability if he is selected in that particular role. Adding to this, he has proven himself within the team as a batsman with the potential to be a great batsman, and has shown the necessary skills.
Since Ponting’s departure from the side, the selectors have treated batting positions as if the only contenders are those already playing a particular position. The only specialist batting positions in Test cricket are the openers. You can develop a number three batsman, but you cannot develop an opening batsman. You are either an opener or you’re not.
In recent times, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh and Joe Burns have been the contenders for first drop.
Clarke is a more aesthetically pleasing batsman, and this is because his technique is not necessarily as tight as Smith, and this gives the opposition more of a chance of getting him out early on in his innings.
He tends to want to generate his own power and timing with the bat, rather than use the pace of the ball to redirect it into gaps to score runs. This suggests that he is stronger against spin bowling than fast bowling.
However, this doesn’t mean that he is not a great batsman, it is the style and approach to batting that means he is more suited to being a number four or five batsman.
Watson is the current number three, but I don’t think he is suited to batting there, and it is mind boggling that many people continue to support his position in the order. His technique is not that tight, and he tends to go hard at the ball because of this. Because of his lack of mobile footwork, Watson tends to get stuck on the crease, or into positions where he cannot move, which makes him a very strong candidate for being dismissed lbw.
Adding to this, Watson lacks the undeniable hunger to score runs during the tough times. He has never had that ability to score runs during tough times, and never will. This, along with his fragile body and fitness, means Watson is no good at number three.
Marsh is similar in many ways to Watson. He is a stylish left-handed batsman, who is lacking that really tight technique, and has question marks over his fitness. Like Watson, he lacks that undeniable hunger to score runs during the tough times, making him a bad candidate.
This in my view seems to be caused by an attitude and focus problem that Watson and Marsh both seem to have, almost some sort of an ego complex, which elevates them above other people without any clear logic or reason for it, and people in the know seem to buy into it more than people viewing from the outside.
Watson and Marsh are two people that are scared of improving their game, and removing or reducing their frailties that leave them vulnerable. They rather want to work on their strengths than work on their weaknesses. It is something they will struggle to remove from their games, and probably never will as they enter the twilight years of their careers.
As for Joe Burns, he has got to prove himself as a batsman at Test match level and if he is not going to be an opening batsman, he has got to prove himself down the order before even thinking about moving him up the order to whatever position suits him.
All the evidence points to Smith being the man that must become Australia’s number three. You might say that Smith isn’t as good as Ponting in playing fast bowling – not many are – but Smith is a much better player of spin than Ponting. Smith is the closest to being the complete package out of all the current players eligible to play for Australia.
Smith’s presence at first drop will allow the two opening batsman to be under less pressure, and allow them to play their natural games. The problem is that there is really no one pushing for an openers spot alongside David Warner, other than the incumbent Chris Rogers.
The one player from the outside that was pushing for that spot is unfortunately no longer with us, and that is terribly sad for everyone who follows the game in this era, and for everyone who is involved in the game.
It is regrettable that we won’t see Phillip Hughes as a part of an Australian Test top order with David Warner and Steven Smith. Replacing Rogers when he leaves the team may be harder than the current dilemma over first drop.
Steven Smith must be Australia’s number three batsman.
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