Melbourne: Veteran Australia batter Steve Smith is set to return to his favoured number four position after a short stint as an opener in the upcoming Test series against India, national selector George Bailey confirmed on Monday.
Post opener David Warner’s retirement earlier this year, Smith had volunteered to open the innings.
Although he made an unbeaten 91 in only his second Test in the new role, the 35-year-old didn’t fare well in the series against New Zealand, collecting a total of 51 runs in four innings.
Bailey confirmed that Smith expressed his desire to return to the middle order to captain Pat Cummins and head coach Andrew McDonald, who have decided to accommodate the batter’s request.
“Pat (Cummins), Andrew (McDonald)and Steve Smith had been having ongoing conversations, separate to the untimely injury to Cameron (Green),” Bailey was quoted as saying by ‘cricket.com.au’.
While Bailey didn’t say where Smith will bat in the middle order, the former captain is likely to slot in at number four.
The opportunity to return to his former position arose after all-rounder Cameron Green, who had taken over Smith’s role at number four, opted for lower back surgery that will keep him out for six months.
However, Bailey noted that the decision to shift Smith was under consideration even before Green was ruled out for the summer.
“Steve had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position, and Pat and Andrew have confirmed that he will be dropping back down the order for the summer,” Bailey added.
Search for new opener
This development means Australia need to find a new opener. The selectors will follow the Australia ‘A’ series against India ‘A’ keenly, where contenders like Cameron Bancroft, teenage sensation Sam Konstas, and Marcus Harris will vie for the opportunity to open alongside Usman Khawaja in the five-match Test series against India.
Bancroft, who served a nine-month ban for his role in the 2018 ball-tampering incident, was tipped to fill the opening spot after Warner’s retirement earlier this year, but the selectors recalled Green to the Test side. He has been the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield for the last two years.
Konstas, on the other hand, surged into Test considerations after he hit back-to-back hundreds against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield, earning him a place in the 17-player Australia ‘A’ squad.
“He (Konstas) is in the mix as are plenty of others. I certainly don’t want to single him out,” Bailey said.
“I think the consistency of Cam Bancroft over a number of years, the consistency of Marcus Harris over a number of years, they’ve both had a look at Test cricket as well. So I don’t think there’s any need at this stage to put undue pressure expectation on Sam.
“He’s five games into his first-class career. He’s had a good start to that, and he certainly looks like he’s got a well organized game that we’re really excited and looking forward to seeing at the A level, and we’ll just continue to watch as that progresses.”
Australia will host India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22 in Perth.
