Steve Smith has confirmed he will not open against India but denied being fussed over his batting position in Test cricket, a week after Australia’s chief selector George Bailey said that the star player has wanted to move out of the opening role.
Following David Warner’s retirement, Smith expressed his eagerness to open the batting despite skipper Pat Cummins’ reluctance to disrupt the batting order. However, Smith’s eagerness to undertake the new challenge saw him face the new ball in four Tests - twice against the West Indies and for two Tests against New Zealand. Cameron Green was slotted in the spot left vacant by Smith, at No.4.
Smith’s outing as an opener did not yield the desired results. He managed just 171 runs in eight innings at an average of 28.50. It included six scores below 15.
Smith: I am happy batting wherever
Last week, Bailey confirmed that Smith would not be opening against India and that he had “expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position.” However, Smith has now clarified that he did not ask to be moved back to his original position, where he has tasted immense success, averaging 56.97 with nearly 6,000 runs.
“I got asked where I'd prefer to bat, and I said four. I didn't ask [to move] though," Smith said. "I also said I'm happy batting wherever. I'm not really too fussed. I got asked where my preference would be, and I said four. I saw a few things last week saying that I've requested to bat at four. That wasn't the case. I said I'm happy to bat wherever you'd like me to bat.”
Smith also confirmed that the injury to Cameron Green, who has since been ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, did not play a part in the head coach Andrew McDonald and Cummins deciding it was time for him to move away from opening. “Obviously there's a spot there now with Greeny [Cameron Green] out. And I think just conversations we had after New Zealand with particularly Marnus and Uzi, they hated me up top, to be honest. They wanted me behind them.
"They just like the...they call it security behind them, in a way. They were pretty strong on me not batting there. So that was a big part of it. And then obviously, I've got a decent record at four.”
He continued: "I said it when I took that job, I'm not really fussed where I bat. The conversations I had with the other guys, they didn't like it at all. They wanted some security, I suppose, behind them, where I've done really well for a number of years, and I can understand that as well. So it is what it is and I'm not going to be opening this summer. That's it."
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