IN-FORM SMITH PRIMED TO START BASHING
CRICKET: Ahead of his longawaited Big Bash League return, Steve Smith has bristled at suggestions he fell out of form during Australia’s lopsided Test summer.
Smith will make his first Big Bash appearance in six years when his Sydney Sixers take on the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba tonight.
The Sixers’ star jetted into Brisbane on Tuesday after producing two sensational performances in Australia’s 2-1 one-day international series loss to India.
Smith cracked 98 and 131 in his only two innings in India, brushing aside concerns over his form after a lean summer by his standards.
The 30-year-old went into the Australian summer on the back of a remarkable Ashes in England, where he scored 774 runs in four matches at an average of 110.
But he managed only 254 runs at 36.28, without a century, against the poor Pakistan and New Zealand Test sides, as a barrage of short bowling stifled his insane run-scoring trot.
“I never felt out of touch – probably just out of runs,” Smith said.
“I spent a lot of time in the middle, just struggled to score at times with certain fields that were set and tactics used against me throughout the summer.
“It was nice to spend some time in the middle (in India), get into a bit of a groove and score a few runs.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t help the team win, but it was nice to get a few out of the middle.”
Smith captained the Sixers to the first BBL title in 2011-12, but his remarkable rise up the international ranks limited his involvement in the Big Bash in recent years.
His last appearance in the tournament came in 2014.
He returns to a Sixers team running second in the competition.
Heat coach Darren Lehmann said Smith would be a huge inclusion for the Sixers up against a Brisbane side featuring Marnus Labuschagne and South African legend AB de Villiers.
“He’s a pretty good player,” Lehmann said.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere. You get Smith and Marnus coming back in (after the India games), the Sixers are second on the table ... we’ve got to come up with a plan to put them under some pressure.”