Australia’s Steve Smith is undoubtedly one of the top batsmen in world cricket today. He holds the No. 1 rankings in Tests and has 7,227 runs to his name at a remarkable average of 62.84 from 77 games.
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Smith has also dominated the 50-over format over the years, amassing 4,162 runs in 125 ODIs at an average of 42.47. The 30-year-old was instrumental in Australia’s 2015 World Cup triumph at home as he was the leading run-scorer for the side in the tournament. In 8 games, Smith aggregated 402 runs at an average of 67, including a match-winning 105 in the semi-final against India.
But all of this, maybe, would not have been possible without a significant suggestion from former captain George Bailey.
Bailey, who led Australia in that World Cup for the first few games in the absence of regular skipper Michael Clarke, recently revealed that it was him who had suggested the team to bat Smith at No. 3.
“’Pup’ (Clarke) had missed heaps of one-day cricket in the lead up to the World Cup so I felt I’d had a contribution to the team and the shaping of it,” he was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“My claim to fame, and no doubt he would have ended up there anyway, (but) we’d been using Steve Smith at six or seven in the one-day team and in Zimbabwe (the previous August-September) we threw Mitch Marsh up to three in a game.
“I made a suggestion that it should be Steve Smith (at three) because at that time Mitch could, and still can, bludgeon the ball, but I couldn’t see him batting for the full innings, where I could see ‘Smudger’ (Smith) batting for 50 overs, making those key hundreds that you could bat around.
“That recommendation was taken up and that played a huge part – Smudger was three right throughout the World Cup and hasn’t moved since.”
Just like all the stars cricketers in the world, Steve Smith is currently enjoying an unforeseen break from the game in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak. He featured in the first ODI against New Zealand in Sydney on March 13 before the remaining two games got abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic.
