Skipper justifies Smith’s new role

The only two balls Steve Smith didn’t “middle” were the two that got him out in his first four innings as an opening batter according to his skipper Pat Cummins, who never wavered in his belief in the run machine.

Smith was the almost-hero in the dramatic eight-run loss to the West Indies in Brisbane, becoming the first opener to carry his bat through an innings since David Warner in Hobart in 2017, finishing unbeaten on 91.

Warner was playing his second Test in that match, and while Smith was playing match number 107, it was just his second after urging selectors to elevate him to open the batting after Warner’s retirement.

The critics were quick to circle after a score of just 12 to start in Adelaide, then an ugly first-innings dismissal at the Gabba when he walked a long way across his stumps and was out LBW.

But the 35-year-old quickly corrected his technique for the pink ball, limiting his first movement in the second innings and defying the order of play. It was enough for Cummins, who never doubted Smith, to label him “brilliant”.

“Other than two dismissals, they are the only two balls he hasn’t looked like he’s middled,” Cummins said in the wake of the loss.

“He’s class, has been class for 15 years. Thought he was brilliant the way he managed the innings then through the different kind of passages and almost single-handedly dragged us over the line.”

Cameron Green put on a 71-run stand with Smith in the second innings before Australia lost 8-94 to go down.

“I’m happy for him to get a result and justify his own decision.”