Perfect practice, Vince Lombardi said, makes perfect.
Steven Smith would argue otherwise.
Smith’s mountainous run-scoring method is highly effective but not perfect. Unique, unconventional and sometimes ungainly would be a better description.
Rather than opting for stillness at the crease – to improve ball-tracking – Smith is a perpetual motion machine.
He shuffles and shifts and fiddles and fidgets, not only between balls but as the bowler bowls.
Youngsters are taught to lead with the top hand and keep the front elbow high. Smith is the antithesis of this adage. His bottom hand dominates as he squirts balls around the park.
Smith must have also missed the lesson on playing with a straight bat in the V.
He whips balls aimed at the top of the off stump to behind square leg. Bowlers claw at their skulls thinking they’ve just missed out on a bowled or leg-before dismissal. Captains wonder if the umpires will notice if they sneak a 12th fielder to plug that gap.
(Photo by Visionhaus)
Tactically, the ‘get Smith out’ method involves bowling a fifth or sixth stump line outside off. The hope is that Smith slashes one to the slip cordon. It often works, too. But Smith is on 142 at that point.
So how does Smith do it?
He already has 25 Test hundreds to his name – all within his last 55 Tests. His average is beyond 60.
Smith’s mentality is the difference.
He looks so hungry. And, reportedly, his training attitude reflects this.
Smith churns through net bowler after net bowler. And when they can’t muster the energy to deliver another delivery, Smith beckons the coach to hurl down a few balls, stopping only once the coach reports a serious case of shoulder bursitis and when Smith has worn out his 16th and final pair of gloves.
He practices so much that the crease is home to him. He’s faced every delivery hundreds – if not thousands – of times. His batting – every nurdle – is ingrained. His self-confidence is indestructible.
Also, Smith holds himself to the loftiest of standards.
Watch Smith the next time he mistimes a shot or strikes a ball to a fielder. He’ll fling his head back and punch his bat in disappointment. He knows he’s better than that.
Steven Smith mightn’t have the perfect technique. He might not be the next Bradman. And he’s certainly not pretty to watch.
He’s Australia’s pantomime villain. He’s single-minded. And he sure is productive.
mbp
Guest
hats off to the guy. he is amazing. all class...!
Simoc
Guest
I think Smiths advantage is time. He sees the length, ball rotation, seam probably a half second earlier than others. We've seen it before with the likes of David Gower. Against the fastest bowlers he still seemed to play in slow motion to where-ever he chose. I noticed this first hand when I saw Barry Richards clubbing Dennis Lillee all over the park at Gloucester Park, Perth like he was a slow spinner in the WSC era. Viv Richards was at the other end and just batted normally (while scoring a ton). But even with Smith we only see this major benefit in test matches. In ODIs , T20s he only comes across as very good. At test level he looks to be a master.
Paul
Roar Guru
We've been very lucky to have had a number of generational batsman that others could aspire to emulate. Smith is totally his own man, in terms of technique and as you rightly point out Andrew, not the easiest to watch - but is this guy effective? There are 2 things he has in common with all other great batsmen, IMO. The first is the time he has to decide how he's going to play a delivery. He must have a fantastic eye to pick up the length so quickly, which makes all those shots off his pads easy to play - for him. The second is his footwork, which is so decisive. Ignore all the shuffling, bat-waving follow-throughs, etc and watch his footwork. He gets into terrific position to play what ever shot he thinks works for a particular delivery. It's this great footwork, combined with time he gives himself to play shots, that allows him to play off his stumps so often. Truly a unique batting style and probably impossible to copy.