Aus vs India 4th BGT Test – Steven Smith finds his old self and Pat Cummins finds his right batting spot at the MCG

It wasn’t the outbursts of emotion that erupted within him at the Gabba after his drought-starting century. The running joke in the Australian team at the start of every summer is that Smith has found his hands again. That nod suggested that he had found something else, his old self.

His 140 against India at the MCG was the closest Smith ever came to being the run machine he once was. The movement patterns, the shots on goal, the defensive strokes, the calmness and ease of his setup all seemed familiar. There was something inevitable about his century. It was a question of when, not if, as it has so often been in the past.

The nod was telling when compared to Smith, who shook his head as he left the Adelaide Oval three weeks ago after being strangled twice on the leg side.

Then he seemed like a man with no answers, annoyed to the point of exhaustion that he couldn’t find his old self again. At this point his average for the calendar year was 23.20 and in his last seven Test innings was 10. The move back to No. 4 had yielded scores of 0, 17 and 2. Ten thousand Test match runs were just 296 away, but it seemed more a matter of if than when.

Three hits later, there was a moment at the MCG when it looked like he might get there before tea, until he found himself strangely 51 runs short of the milestone, having scored a second century in as many Tests.

“You have to have faith,” Smith said after the game. “You have to have a little faith in what you’re trying to do. I’ve been playing the game long enough now to know that there can be ups and downs. “Sometimes you can hit the ball really well,” which I think I said when I wasn’t scoring the runs, actually felt like I was hitting pretty well. And I think there’s a difference between out of shape and out of shape.

“I think you need a lot of luck on these wickets to score big runs too.”

Australia will be grateful that Smith has found his old self. It may be a fleeting plateau in the midst of a gradual decline. It could also, he hopes, be a regression in the opposite direction, back to its extraordinary mean.

But Australia have found a batting order that works. This too may be fleeting. It could also be because the MCG pitch finally gave the batters some grace.

“This one probably offers a little less than some of the others,” Smith said. “It’s probably more because the ball softens a little quicker than on the other wickets, but yeah, there’s definitely still something to offer.”

Coincidentally, the Order was functioning as a collective for the first time in a long time. Sam Konstas’ extraordinary and chaotic innings swept Australia’s faltering top order into their slipstream. Each of the top four teams exceeded the 50-point mark for the first time in 28 friendlies. Smith went out to bat in the 45th over, the first time he had faced his first ball so deep in the innings in 32 runs to the crease, averaging 36.32 during that time.

Australia amassed 474 points without the need for an exceptional rearguard effort from Travis Head or Mitchell Marsh, who between them contributed just four runs.

“I thought Patty played really well, really well, with positive intent. We were able to build a nice partnership and carry some momentum into the game from that point on.”

Steven Smith on partnering with Pat Cummins

Cummins has made a significant contribution for Australia with the bat over the last 18 months. But his exploits at Edgbaston, Brisbane and Christchurch had all reached No. 9. For all the talent he and Mitchell Starc possess with the bat, both averaged 14 at No. 8 in Test cricket. That’s why they changed positions so often. Cummins has repeatedly spoken about how little batting position plays a role when it comes to his top order, but it appears to be very important to him and Starc as both have stated that they prefer to bat at No.9.

Starc averaged 25.40 in his first 18 innings at the position but averaged 9.33 in his last 34 since 2017, which is why Cummins took over the role this summer.

But Cummins, like Smith, looked as comfortable as he had throughout the series. Like the top batters, he was tormented by Jasprit Bumrah. In his career, Cummins was dismissed by Bumrah eight times for just 45 runs, at an average of 15.75 deliveries per dismissal. After making 299 for 6 against the second new ball on the first evening and facing Bumrah again on the second morning, he managed to last 20 balls against him without being dismissed.

Smith and Cummins then attacked at the other end. They rattled five over each other at pace to wear India down. Smith reached the crease and bowled two balls for six, including one from Bumrah. Cummins stayed on the leg side and cut balls on either side of the point.

“I thought Patty played really well, really well, with positive intent,” Smith said. “From that point on we were able to form a nice partnership and add some momentum to the game.”

They needed the stand. Without it, a score below 350 would have looked vulnerable on a surface that was great for batting in the afternoon. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli made Australia’s attack seem toothless for a long time in the afternoon. But the pressure they had created with the first innings total played a role as India imploded late on thanks to a disastrous run-out and another special MCG spell from Scott Boland.

“We got a good result and are in a good position,” Smith said with another knowing nod. “That last hour, that was a big last hour in the game.”