Who opens in Australia? Who should be open in Australia? Should Steven Smith continue to lead or move back to fourth? These questions have been surrounding the Australian Test set-up for some time and are gaining traction ahead of India’s visit to Australia next month.
“Steve Smith called so he could go and open the door and I think he should be there.” With the year-end Border-Gavaskar Trophy approaching, here is Shane Watson’s verdict.
“Obviously the safety blanket for him would be back to number four but I would like to see him continue to take up the opening spot because he has the skills to do it,” Watson said. The International Masters League begins in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Following David Warner’s retirement following the New Year’s Test against Sydney, Smith’s rise through the ranks became the subject of widespread debate with no clear winner. Watson himself had backed Cameron Green to succeed as a Test opener before Smith’s promotion, but was convinced otherwise by Green’s performance. A career-best match win of 174 not out against New Zealand in Wellington.
“Cameron Green came in and did a great job batting at No. 4,” Watson said. “The $100 he won in New Zealand was something very special and he is the perfect top four candidate moving forward for the future.”
As if it wasn’t tricky enough already, the situation for Australia has become more complicated as they sweat over Green’s availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which begins in Perth on November 22. The 25-year-old all-rounder flew home from England after the third edition of the tournament. ODI against England after complaining of back pain. He suffered four stress fractures prior to his Test debut in 2020, but the exact nature of his current injury is yet to be confirmed. Cricket Australia’s medical team has been carefully assessing scans over the past two weeks to plan his recovery, with an announcement for the India series expected this week.
Smith has scored 171 runs in four Tests so far in the opener, more than half of them in one innings against the West Indies, at an average of 28.50, but Watson believes this is not a problem caused by his batting position. .
“I think the reason he didn’t do so well in the previous few Test matches was just because his technique was a bit lacking,” Watson said. “You saw him go out in some ways you’ve never seen him go out before.
“I know he would have had time to go away and make a few technical adjustments. If he opens and makes those little adjustments, he can be incredibly successful as an opening batsman, knowing what incredible skills he has.”
“I’m a traditionalist. Growing up, the Gabba was always the first Test match and that’s the Test match I used to go to,” the former Australia all-rounder said before highlighting the challenge the Gabba poses to visiting teams.
“The Gabba is a more difficult place for foreign teams to play because there’s bounce, there’s seam, there’s swing and it’s hot and humid. So it provides a few more challenges, whereas Perth, for example, isn’t as humid, the ball doesn’t bounce around as much and , there aren’t that many seams.
“I’ve always loved the Gabba as a venue where touring teams can take on some of Australia’s most challenging conditions.”
The ‘Gabbatoir’ has been Australia’s stronghold for decades, with the country boasting a 16-2 win-loss record in Tests in Brisbane over the past two decades. However, the fortress recently collapsed. West Indies famously won the 2020-21 series with an embarrassing eight-run win in January, while India handed Australia their first Test loss at the Gabba in 32 years. With Brisbane needing upgraded infrastructure to host the 2032 Olympic Games, CA has doubts about the Gabba’s viability and is nearing the end of its lifetime with only a two-year contract to play Test matches there.
