Australia captain Pat Cummins has all but confirmed that Steve Smith will not move away from his position of number 4 after the star batsman expressed his “certain interest” in taking up the vacant opening position after David Warner’s retirement.
After the conclusion of Warner’s farewell Test in Sydney against Pakistan, Steve Smith said he is “pretty keen” to move up the order and open alongside Usman Khawaja.
There are already a few contenders for that spot in the minds of the Australian selectors and management – Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Matt Renshaw, Cameron Green, and Marnus Labuschagne – and now Smith seemed to have increased their conundrum by putting his name in the hat.
However, Pat Cummins was clear that he doesn’t want to disrupt the middle order that has done well for them. Australia retained the Ashes in England, won the WTC Final, and now defeated Pakistan 3-0.
Cummins said: “I’m pretty happy with [Smith’s] output at No. 4. Obviously Marnus [Labuschagne], Smudge [Smith], Trav [Head] and [Mitchell] Marsh have been pretty impressive at Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6. So first instinct isn’t probably to disrupt that.”
“What can’t Steve Smith do?”: Marnus Labuschagne
After a slightly under-par year compared to his own lofty standards, Steve Smith seems to want to reinvent his batting and take up the new challenge of opening in Test cricket, something which he has never done in his career so far. But Cummins doesn’t seem on board with that idea.
Marnus Labuschagne, though, has endorsed Steve Smith’s name to open the batting. Labuschagne hailed Smith’s flexibility – pointing out that Smith has done exceedingly well at numbers 3, 4, and 5 in his Test career.
“He wants it, that’s for sure,” Labuschagne told cricket.com.au. “And jeez, what can’t that guy do? He averages 67 at four, 62 at three, 58 at five.
“I’m sure if we go down that path and give it to him, he’s going to average in the 60s opening. I think it could be a good challenge for him. It could be one that gets him out and gets his beans going, out (to bat) straightaway, ball swinging around and nipping around, he’s got a beautiful technique to combat any type of bowling.”
Steve Smith as Test opener? Marnus certainly thinks so ✅
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— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 7, 2024
Australia host West Indies for two Tests next before touring New Zealand for two Tests.
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