Bring it on, says Smith
STEVE Smith has dared India to try to exploit his so-called weakness to short-pitched bowling, setting the scene for a fiery start to the summer.
The Australian superstar was headhunted by England firebrand Jofra Archer in the 2019 Ashes, before New Zealander Neil Wagner set out the first plausible blueprint for how to bowl to Smith last summer, after containing him with unrelenting short balls.
As the Australians brace for an all-out attack on the world’s No. 1 batsman, Smith has a simple message: bring it on.
Smith is adamant the chin music is not his achilles heel and says if India try to follow Wagner’s game plan it will be at their peril.
“It’s no dramas for me. I just play the game and sum up the conditions, how they’re trying to get me out and being able to counter that,” Smith said.
“I mean, a few different oppositions have tried it and they’ve certainly found it more difficult to (execute) the way Wagner did.
“He’s got an amazing skill set where his speeds go up and down … everything is between your ribs and your head.
“If teams are trying to get me out like that it’s probably a big benefit for the team because it takes a lot out of people’s bodies if you continually
bowl short. I’ve faced a lot of short bowling in my life and I haven’t had too many stresses with it. I suppose we’ll just wait and see.”
The lasting image of the Amazon documentary The Test was Smith’s duel against Archer, when he was floored by a vicious bouncer at Lord’s, only to return to the crease.
Smith said he wasn’t scarred by the hit, evidenced by his Ashes-sealing doublecentury in the fourth Test.
“I never really look at it too much that way,” he said. “That happened and I came back and made a couple of big scores. I moved on and trusted myself.”
However, Smith’s teammate Matthew Wade – another target of Wagner last summer – senses a storm is coming in the shape of a fearsome Indian attack led by Jasprit Bumrah.
“I think (short bowling tactic) will definitely be used,” warned Wade. “I’m 100 per cent sure India will go to that kind of plan at some stage.”