It was off his 39th delivery that Steve Smith earned his first run in the first innings of the third Test.
It was as if Smith crossed a massive landmark. He had finally got off the mark by tucking a ball off his hips past short leg against his adversary Neil Wagner.
As soon as he got to the other end, the SCG gave a prolonged roar. Smith raised a glove to perform a mock celebration and Wagner gave him a pat on the back, such has been the rivalry between Steve Smith and Neil Wagner. The left-arm seamer has managed to make the former number one Test batsman his victim four times on the trot in this series before Colin de Grandhomme got him in the final Test.
Runs have not come by smoothly for Smith this season. His strike rate of 36.13 against Pakistan and 34.13 against New Zealand is the slowest of his career so far. In fact, no other batsman since 2000 has scored slower than Smith having faced 500 balls in a home season. It represents a big dip after averaging 137.40, 72.55, 70.71, and 128.16 respectively in the home summers before the 2019-20 season.
But where did this form slump come from? The Sheffield Shield hundred prior to the summer set the wheels in motion.
While the 103 against Western Australia was the slowest knock of his career, the significance of it couldn’t be over-emphasised since it came on a slow pitch. It required the old-school cricket of grinding and putting the hard yards out in the middle.
In the Tests against Pakistan, Smith came to the crease at the end of massive partnerships. In Brisbane, Yasir Shah clattered his stumps for four when he tried to belt it through the onside.
In Adelaide, the right-hander fell to Shaheen Afridi for 36 while attempting to hoick it over midwicket. Despite his dismissal for scores rarely seen off his bat, there was little at stake.
Things were different against the Black Caps. In each of those Tests, Smith came in under pressure. And in each of those cases, one more wicket would have given the Kiwis a massive opening.
(Visionhaus)
Instead, Smith stayed there, stood firm, and stemmed the blood loss along with Marnus Labuschagne. His efforts in tiring down the Kiwi bowlers was often overshadowed by the brilliance of Labuschagne, who enjoyed an unforgettable summer, amassing 896 runs at 112.
In Perth, Smith batted for 164 balls and added 132 with Labuschagne in the first innings before the first of the many short deliveries got him for 43. In Melbourne, it was a decent yet invaluable stand of 83 before he fell for 85 to a brute of a ball from Wagner.
At the SCG, it was the same story when Warner threw away his wicket before converting a promising start to something huge. Wagner greeted him with a short delivery that hit him on the gut and fired another 19 consecutive dots. From the other end, Colin de Grandhomme and after that Todd Astle did their share of work in keeping Smith scoreless. It was a riveting scene to watch. The crowd were joining it, watching the best Test batsman in the world figuring out ways to break the shackles.
On four from 48 balls, Smith shimmied down the deck and hoicked Will Somerville over wide mid-on. That is when the runs started flowing as he pounced on the erratic length from the spinners. Before tea, he raced to 41 off 62 deliveries and the partnership with Labuschagne began pegging back the visitors again. The Australian innings was starting to enter a phase similar to that of the first two Tests.
He stagnated again as he found himself on 49 for the next 17 deliveries amid another spell from Wagner. Smith brought up his 28th half-century by dabbing out to cover off de Grandhomme. The second new ball eventually got the better of him, edging an out-swinger off de Grandhomme by playing a half-hearted shot.
Despite his struggles, Smith has been putting runs on the board, which is evidence of the extraordinary player he is.
Yes, Smith has had to struggle for the runs and averaged a mere 31.75 this summer. And while it has undeniably been the summer of Marnus, Smith has still been around to weather the storm when it mattered.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
"This is a very perceptive piece..." Others may opine that it's a desperate piece of fanboism. Anyway, it is an indisputable fact that Smith is now under real pressure. Another series like Pakistan and he'll fall behind Adam Voges as Oz's highest averaging non-Bradman...
Peter85
Roar Rookie
Smith had 2 times out of his 7 innings where there was some pressure on him to succeed (coming in with the score under 100 in the first innings, as all second innings were with leads in excess of 250). This is in Melbourne, where he anchored the innings prior to Heads century and Sydney where he was a great foil to ML, again batting for a long period of time and blunting the NZ attack. While out of form, he applied himself extremely well in the two situations where a contribution was required.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
He's just had a year off. There's no way he's mentally tired. He's fine. He was just jousting with Wagner's rubbish and got caught. If he was needed, he would not have played some of those 'last 6 balls in the nets at training' shots that he played. There are no issues at all with Smith.
Paul
Roar Guru
This is a very perceptive piece, Smudge. Many would have either ignored Smith's efforts, given the fireworks from Labuschagne & Warner, or simply said he's done nothing, but as you rightly point out, he managed to make runs in some very important situations, even though his form suggested he should have gone early. His application is tremendous.
Paul
Roar Guru
If he's not physically knackered, he'd have to be mentally tired for sure, OG. And now he goes to India for some ODIs. Really not sure that's a great idea.
Tanmoy Kar
Roar Rookie
Due to super successful Summer of Warner and Labuschagne, Smith's contribution has become timid. He came to bat quite late when his runs were not that much important for the team. He plays best when the team is in crisis.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Good comment. In fact, I would say Smith’s innings in Melbourne was the best of the match, far more significant than Head’s in the context of the game. Good fighting knocks in Perth and Sydney. Shouldn’t say Warner threw his wicket away in Sydney – sometimes players make slight errors of judgement or execution and don’t get way with it. Marnus did a lot worse this series without getting out. In fact, I’d say Warner’s modest first innings totals in the 40s and 30s in all three NZ Tests showed a lot of skill and temperament against the new ball and were important in laying a foundation.
Winston
Guest
There is no doubt he is our best batsman. He had to come off the boil at some stage, and the fact he could still contribute despite being in "poor" form is all class. I'm sure nobody would take any notice of his average from the Pakistan matches given the lack of pressure. And even the NZ games, the perceived short ball weakness was really only a weakness because he wasn't in top form, otherwise every one of those balls would have gone to the leg side fence. How many teams have targeted his pads and failed over the years because of his superior hand eye coordination? This is just another one of those. Hopefully he will be back to his best next summer.
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
I reckon Smithy would be urging Marnus now to bat at #4 where he could score even more runs :-) Seriously though it is just fantastic that the whole side does not have to rely on one batsman like we had to in the Ashes and then in India nefore that.
Old Greybeard
Roar Rookie
I wonder if the herculean efforts of the Ashes tour have left him just plain knackered. He was near enough batting at 3 given the absolute crap opening stands and not much from any opener except in one innings. That whack on the head might have had long term effects too. I do not know, but if one or two other batters had "failed" to his level in England we would have won the series.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Totally out of form he refuses to give his wicket away and instead grinds out ugly runs. He’s got a remarkable temperament. Heaven help the side we’re playing when he finds his mojo again.