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BGT, Aus vs Ind – Steven Smith’s tinkering sparks a return to the runs

BGT, Aus vs Ind – Steven Smith’s tinkering sparks a return to the runs

Not out of shape, just out of runs. Steven Smith made this distinction when interviewed at the Gabba ahead of the play’s revival on day two.

A first-ball duck against the fired-up Jasprit Bumrah, an excellent delivery from Mohammed Siraj and a tickle on the leg side were his three dismissals so far. It was a small sample size in itself, but overall he averaged 23.20 over a more extensive 13 innings in 2024. He was on his longest innings stretch without a Test century.

To no one’s surprise, Smith had tinkered before the Brisbane Test when he reverted to an exaggerated trigger move over the stumps. Some also felt that he just needed a bit of luck. He certainly had his share as he battled a ball that fizzed around on a surface that had only seen 13.2 overs on the first day.

India have targeted him directly, which has brought success to the bowlers over the last two years, including eight of Smith’s 32 lbw dismissals. His first ball was a strangled scream as the trigger took him across the crease against Bumrah. Later, Rohit Sharma was persuaded to review an LBW when Smith turned guns on Mohammed Siraj, which turned out to be an umpire’s order. When Akash Deep completed the over that Siraj abandoned to leave the field, only a Nick saved Smith from a full ball.

Just after lunch, he got an inside advantage against a great throw from Bumrah, which Rishabh Pant couldn’t reach as it flew to fine leg. Raising his bat to 50, which came from 128 balls, almost felt a little apologetic. At the other end, Travis Head was on 73 off 95 balls.

As Smith and Head had done in the World Test Championship final at The Oval last year, this was a perfect example of partnership batting. The similarities between the stands were almost disturbing, at least from an Indian perspective.

On that day the pair combined at 76 for 3, while in Brisbane they were 75 for 3. In both cases, Head (whose previous three innings at the Gabba were first-ball Ducks) was quick out of the blocks and Smith was playing in his slipstream. At The Oval, the breakdown of the first 100 runs of their stand was: Head 65, Smith 29; at the Gabba it was Head 65, Smith 30. Last year the score ended at 285; This was eventually stopped at 241, but the damage was done.

Tellingly, and as in Adelaide last week, Head had gone all the way to the crease after the 30-over mark. While the runs didn’t come at a canter, the work of Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne and Smith had lost its early luster to varying degrees, although there was continued support for the fast bowlers.

“If we get to 30 overs when Travis comes in, it will make a big difference to the team,” Smith said after the game. “At around 30-40 overs the seam starts to settle down and the ball stays pretty hard. You see guys who can hit five, six, seven and hit the ball hard and get good value for their shots. That’s the way we’ve developed.

By the time Head scored his second century in successive innings, this time off 115 balls, Smith had 64 off 143.

“The way he came out and just hit, I was able to take second fiddle and do my thing,” Smith said. “It’s nice to partner with him because the scoreboard moves extremely quickly. We don’t say too much to each other, he just says ‘do your thing’, I just say ‘do your thing’ and we move on.” It was cool to see that again, he’s a special player right now.”

Before tea there were signs that the benefits of Smith’s early transplant were beginning to pay off and freedom returned to his stroke play in the final session. The longer the inning lasted, the smoother the trigger appeared.

“I’ve changed my setup pretty much every game I’ve played in the last 15 years, so it’s nothing new for me,” he said. “If I want to change a few things, it really doesn’t take me long. Sometimes I do it in the middle of the inning.”

“I try to adapt and figure out how to play best for each surface I face. I hit a little bit out of my line, tried to get to the bowler a little bit, ran over my stumps but left my left leg free. “I think my movements were pretty good today, maybe a little more than I thought I would have liked at the beginning, but I felt like I was moving well into the ball.

There was a crashing reverse when Reddy fell short at medium pace; he advanced on the field to the ineffectual Ravindra Jadeja, who Australia had clearly targeted; he drove Reddy past the goal in the middle; he went into the 90s when he halved the covers against Jadeja with precision; He drove Siraj to the ground with an air of distance.

But one of his best hits took him to 99, a flawless drive against Akash Deep that produced a wonderful sound straight away. There are a few hallmarks of Smith at his best – the on-drive might be at the top of the list.

The next delivery was on his pads and he declined, opting for century No. 33, putting him alone in second place on the Australian all-time list, ahead of Steve Waugh. His second fifty took him just 57 balls. Smith began clenching his fists as he finished the single, took off his helmet, wiped his brow and held up his bat, then gave it an exaggerated swing, although he made downplayed suggestions that the celebration added more poignancy had.

“You have to keep faith and know that if you keep working hard, things will change, and I worked hard at it,” he said. “Today I was lucky, I had a bit of it early on, got hit a few times, which is what will happen on this wicket. I might grab one of these another day. I had to earn every run out there.”

Unable to last much longer, he urged Bumrah on and sent a lead at slip to Rohit, who flung the ball away with more than a hint of anger, or at least frustration.

Smith was also frustrated with himself as he walked away. But while he was out, he ran out of runs.

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

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