Steve Smith responds after teammates call for Aussie star to drop down Test batting order
Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne have both declared Smith would be better at No.4.
Steve Smith has revealed he has "no idea" where he'll be batting in the Aussie order for the first Test against India this summer, despite teammates Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne both calling for him to move back to No.4 and ditch the experiment as an opener. Smith volunteered to take David Warner's place at the top of the order when the veteran opener retired from Test cricket last summer, but didn't have much success.
Smith made one good score against the West Indies at the Gabba, but mostly failed to make any significant runs in a small sample size. He made 171 runs in eight innings against the Windies and New Zealand, with only one half-century to his name.
He averaged just 28.25 at the top of the order - well below his career average of 56.97. In the New Zealand series alone he averaged only 12.75 across four innings with a high score of 31.
Khawaja and Labuschagne have both publicly declared they'd prefer to see Smith batting at No.4, but the 35-year-old revealed on Tuesday he'd be comfortable remaining in the opener role against India. “The conversations I’ve had so far are that we’ll go to England and the boys will have the T20s, and then I’m there for the one-dayers and we’ll make a decision after that," Smith said.
“Those conversations are happening in the background. I saw some comments that Usman made and I think he said he likes me down at No.4, and I think Marnus is of a similar thought pattern. I’m happy wherever and I’ll bat anywhere for the team. For me it’s just a position.
“If I’m batting at four, I could be in after the first two balls. I’ve been in early on many occasions and faced the new ball early, so to me it’s just a number. It’s not anything I can read into, so I just go out and play my game that I’ve done for a long period of time.”
RELATED:
Shane Warne call ignored as Cricket Australia makes huge announcement
Mark Taylor caught in storm over 'disrespectful' move at Olympics
If selectors decide Smith is better at No.4 and opt to end the opener experiment, it might cost someone their place in the side. Cameron Green could be promoted to open, but if selectors want a traditional opener like Cameron Bancroft of Matthew Renshaw, Green could be dropped from the side altogether.
Steve Smith wants to play at 2028 Olympics in LA
Meanwhile, Smith has provided a telling hint as to his plans for retirement - or lack thereof. His days as a Test player might be coming to an end, but the prolific batter revealed he wants to still be playing by the time the 2028 Olympics roll around - when T20 cricket will make its debut.
Twenty20 cricket will be one of five new sports included at the 2028 Games, which are set to open around 18 months after Smith's new BBL deal with the Sydney Sixers ends. Smith will be 39 in 2028, but he said he can see a world where he is still playing T20 cricket - possibly as a globe-trotting gun-for-hire in international leagues.
Smith isn't a mainstay in the Australian T20 side, but would be in high demand at franchise level. He recently opened the batting for the Washington Freedom and helped them win the Major League Cricket title in America.
"I could still be playing T20 cricket in four years, so you never know," he said of his Olympic ambitions. "It's a format I could see myself playing for probably a lot longer than some of the others, particularly with a lot of the franchise stuff around the world. I've signed on here (at the Sixers) for three years, it's only another year after that. It'd be cool to be part of an Olympics, definitely."
with agencies
