Former Australian captain and goalkeeper Tim Paine made a cryptic criticism of his former teammate Steve Smith, who now opens for the Baggy Greens in the longest format. While speaking on ESPN Australia’s “Around the Wicket” show, Paine stated that as a rival team, he would like Smith to open, highlighting the latter’s inability against the new ball.
Tim Paine was quite clear that Steve Smith is more than capable of changing games and can be successful in any batting position. However, when it comes to the opening spot, Smith could easily be scrutinized against bowling units that come in fresh and try to pick up a wicket on the fly.
Tim Paine says he would love to see Steve Smith open but points out the only major problem
As an opposing team, Tim Paine stated that the captains would want Steve Smith to start instead of his previous and common position at number 4. Paine feels that it will give other teams a very good opportunity to bring him out early. Paine said he wants Smith to prove the skeptics wrong, but to do so, the 34-year-old batsman will have spent more hours in the nets.
“I would love to see him succeed as an opener, I think he can, there is no doubt about that, he is good enough to hit anywhere, but as an opposing player I want him at the top of the order because that gives me the best. possibilities of getting it out.” – said Tim Paine through the ESPN Australia program Around the wicket.
Tim Paine, who retired from international cricket in 2021, claimed that an opposing captain can use his best players with the new ball to get Steve Smith out early on. Paine then recalled the time when Australia visited England for the 2019 Ashes series when Smith was almost invincible in terms of not getting out of the No. 4 position. He used that reference to convey that Smith becomes untouchable when he appears as a second-try batsman. .
“If I am the opposition, I want him opening the batting. I want my best players to be as fresh as possible with a new ball. “I was in that Ashes in 2019 and I went to England with him in another one and when he was at his best batting for four, you felt like he couldn’t get out.” – Paine concluded.
How has Steve Smith’s new batting position turned out?
Pretty average by his standards, but Steve Smith has the ability to make a turnaround shortly if the Australian management backs him to continue there in the next Test series. The New South Wales man’s first deployment as an opener came earlier this year when the West Indies returned home after a glorious 1-1 draw in the Test series.
Smith made scores of 12 and 11* in the first Test at Adelaide, where Australia won by 10 wickets before scoring 6 in the second Test at the Gabba, where his second innings of 90* while chasing was eclipsed by Shamar Joseph’s masterclass . Then in their next Test series in New Zealand, where the Pat Cummins-led team won 2-0, Steve Smith scored a combined 51 runs in 4 innings in Wellington and Christchurch.