Describing Steve Smith as an elite problem-solver has quickly become a cliche.
Yet no other Test batsman has to overcome as wide a variety of bowling strategies as the Australian champion.
So dominant is Smith that opposition attacks have tried everything to unsettle him. Some have bowled full and wide with a stacked off-side field. Others have targeted his stumps with a strong leg side.
More still have set a deep field to deny him boundaries and try to frustrate him or have changed their lines, lengths and fields regularly in an attempt to upset his rhythm.
Again and again Smith has come up with solutions on the fly. At the core of this adaptability has been his remarkable restraint. Opponents implement these strategies with the aim of boring out Smith only for him to turn the tables, refusing to give in to their tactics until eventually it is they who relent and adopt plans B, C, D and E.
(Visionhaus)
As the 2019 Ashes came to an end with Smith having piled up 774 runs at 110, England had churned through countless unsuccessful strategies. Watching on, the Kiwis had a plan.
During the World Cup New Zealand had dismissed Smith with a bodyline approach and heavy leg-side field. In Neil Wagner they had the perfect bowler to execute such a strategy in this summer’s blockbuster Test series. No Test bowler in the world takes more wickets with bouncers than Wagner and he promptly dismissed Smith twice with short balls in the first Test.
As I argued in a piece for The Roar, Australia’s batsmen needed to adopt clear plans for the short ball at the MCG after struggling against it in the second innings at Perth.
To Smith too it had seemed unclear how to counter the flood of short balls. He tried ignoring them, he tried milking them for singles, he tried attacking them. It was this latter approach that brought about his downfall in both innings as Smith pulled the ball straight to waiting fielders.
After his second dismissal in that fashion Smith looked livid. He could not believe he had fallen into an obvious trap yet again.
In the ten days between the first and second Tests Smith reportedly practised like a madman against the short ball. Then he came out yesterday with a clear plan. Early in his innings Smith refused to take on the bouncer, happy even for them to thud into his body rather than attempt a stroke.
Not before he was well set – until he had faced 100 balls – did Smith regularly start to lay bat on short balls. That was stage one of his plan, to allow himself to get bolted to the crease before unfurling pulls and hooks.
Whereas stage one was about temperament, stage two was based on technique. Smith made a point of standing tall and hitting down on his pulls and hooks to minimise the chance of lofting the ball.
Smith’s patience, combined with this technical adjustment, helped him to wear down the talented and disciplined Kiwi bowling unit. This is just what he has done to Test attacks all over the world in the past six years. When everything is clicking for him he tears attacks to pieces.
At other times, when runs are tougher to come by, he just grinds and grinds and grinds.
That’s what he did yesterday. NZ’s quicks bowled well on an MCG pitch that offered them reasonable assistance. Smith was not able to get on a roll but he never lost his composure, trusted his tactics and frustrated the Kiwis with 77* from 192 balls.
With Marnus Labuschagne (63), David Warner (41), Matt Wade (38) and Travis Head (25*) all chipping in, Australia had the better of what was an absorbing day of Test cricket.
New Zealand will need to make major inroads in the first session this morning to stop Smith from batting them out of the Test.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Lol, the perfect comment :thumbup:
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
No he hasn't.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Wagner has Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall figures. So they are not dealing with Wagner, if anything you wonder if the Boult and even Granhomme even though he is 5km slower than Wagner should try his tactics,
matth
Roar Guru
Australia seem to be dealing with it just fine to me
anon
Roar Pro
Let's stop pumping up the Kiwis. They've been an embarrassment thus far.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
It will never plumb the depths of his bottom of the barrel perspective on integrity, honesty and leadership. I see excuses for his deceitfulness set out below - Faf du Plessis, Kiwi inferiority and so on. They have nothing to do with the reasonable expectations of Australian captain.
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
All of the batsmen had to deal with Wagner's short-pitched bowling - it's his MO against basically everyone in Test cricket, as the format allows him a fair bit of room to move on bowling short.
JGK
Roar Guru
Those runs were scored BEFORE Ronan's article. Hence the jinx.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Sure is. Ouch.
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
Really needed to say that? There is a thing called commentator's curse. Now there seems to be another thing, article's curse.
jameswm
Roar Guru
So yesterday doesn’t count? Smith didn’t face Wagner yesterday?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
The underarm is quite sensitive to sandpaper.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Just the kiwi inferiority complex and huge chip on the shoulder against aussies on show. You never heard a peep from kiwis with all the other ball tampering incidents like Faf Du Plessis for example. When the sandpaper incident happened they all ran out of their burrows to spout their vitriol.
U
Roar Rookie
The Kiwis have Somerville, Patel and even Astle who are all capable of taking wickets
DCD
Roar Rookie
The booing is a bit average too
U
Roar Rookie
Seems to have one of the best records worldwide in the last few years
U
Roar Rookie
This article didn’t age well
JGK
Roar Guru
Except it was 8 - Smith was on 77* overnight.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
His fastest ball on the speed gun that I noticed yesterday was 134 for a full delivery. He got Smith out with a 129 delivery. Wagner has lot a bit of pace , whatever Steve Waugh did mentally NZ have trumped him with this medium pace bodyline Australia mentally unable to deal with it.
jameswm
Roar Guru
It’s like the Don with bodyline. 80 is a failure.