If Steve Smith was a footballer, in any code, he’d be dropped to the reserves by now.
With the bat, he’s looking a shadow of himself. Rather than being a solid part of the Australian middle order, he’s looking more like a player on the way out relying on past reputation than current form.
He’s batting with little confidence and his scores make for some worrying reading. His last big Test knock was in January, in the second Test against the West Indies where the visitors famously produced an upset on Australian soil, where Smudge scored 91 not out.
His last century dates all the way back to the Ashes in England more than a year ago – before his failed switch to opener – with only four 50s in 13 Tests since then. Not what a Test team needs from its No.4 batter.
The 91 against the Windies came at the Gabba, and the Aussies will be hoping it’s the place where he rediscovers that form when the third Test begins this Saturday, as that seems to be where he lost it. But that’s easier said than done.
There were obvious clues that he would struggle in the Border-Gavaskar series, especially his scores of 3 and 0 in the only Sheffield Shield, which showed he needed more time at the state level with the red ball rather than being thrown into the pointless ODI series against Pakistan.
There have been some reasonable scores in the limited overs games, but it’s like all the white ball cricket that he has played is impacting his form at Test level.
He’s not looking comfortable at the crease – it’s a different style of game to what he’s played all year.
Steve Smith batting at the Gabba. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
While his two dismissals in Perth were two great deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohamed Siraj, his errant technique played a major role in his downfalls.
He only had one innings in Adelaide but managed to edge the ball down the leg side to be caught behind.
Something needs to be done and done quickly to get Smudge back in form. He cannot continue to be ‘dead wood’ in the middle order taking up a spot without adding anything.
The bowlers have been able to contain India in three out of the four innings to under 180, but the one monster 6d-487 needs to be able to be matched if the tourists are able to again get away against the Australian attack.
Maybe the selectors should take a leaf out of the Kurtis Patterson book. The New South Welshman was dropped from the state side last season all the way back to grade cricket to regain his touch.
Last season, Patterson played just three matches, and in his four innings scored just 59 runs at an average of 14.75 and a top score of 32.
After finding form with St George in Premier Cricket this year he was recalled to the Shield side. In his four matches, he has 527 runs from his six innings at an average of 105.40 – including a two-year drought-breaking ton of 167 not out to help NSW to an innings win over Western Australia. The season is just six rounds old.
It may be more unlikely Smith endures this path due to his ‘marketability’ to Cricket Australia; he’s a big-name star and whether he is in form or not, he is creating headlines and attention for the game.
Batters like Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Cam Bancroft, Josh Inglis or even an outsider like Hilton Cartwright are posting big scores in Shield cricket and are being kept out by the hope ‘what if this is the innings Smith finds form’.
Or is Smudge being kept in the Test side for his fielding? Despite putting one down in Adelaide when he completely lost sight of the pink ball flying through the cordon, he’s taken five catches across the two Tests.
Surely, none of those mentioned above could do worse with the bat than 19 runs across three Test innings, right? They may not do much better, that remains to be seen, but what does Australia have to lose by dropping Smith until his form improves?
Even the argument that he’d be better off building confidence at the higher level doesn’t stack up as he’s not showing any signs of improvement, if anything he’s looking more shaky with every low score.
When the rest of the order crumbles like it did in Perth, it can be very costly – imagine losing the Ashes next year because the Aussies can’t reel in a total, or collapse in the first innings and have to chase the rest of the match. If Smith is selected, he needs to pull his weight.
Steve Smith of Australia makes his way out to bat at Sydney Cricket Ground. (Photo by Jason McCawley – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
NRL and AFL coaches don’t hesitate to drop players who are out of form, or who are no longer the best players for the team. Newcastle Knights dropped their main halfback Jackson Hastings to the NSW Cup. In the AFL, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge put star midfielder Jackson Macrae back to the VFL and even used him as a sub when he saw a form dip.
Smith seems immune to that mentality, and there has been some criticism from fans that he is a ‘protected species’.
Marnus Labuschagne could be put in the same category, as his Test form has almost mirrored Smith’s with one century since the last Ashes and only a handful of 50s. But his solid 64 in Adelaide has kept the wolves from the door – for now.
Having said all that, one contributing factor could be the lack of Test match cricket on the calendar. With all the white ball international cricket and the IPL and World Cups, there is just not enough time to prepare before a series and changes are made on the run. Australia had to wait nine months between Test matches this year.
But when slumps like Smith’s persist, selectors need to be cruel to be kind and wield the axe.
Give him a spell as a state cricketer even for the rest of the season, with one eye on having him back and firing against the Poms next year – let’s hope.
