Legendary Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy heaped rich praise on Steve Smith for the way he took the ongoing Big Bash League 2022–23 (BBL 12) by storm with his batting as an opener for the Sydney Sixers.
Smith, who has been in and out of Australia’s T20I team in recent times, amassed 328 runs in 4 innings for the Sydney Sixers, scoring 36, 101, 125*, and 66 in the ongoing BBL 2022-23.
Hailing the right-hander, Healy was surprised at how the Australian selector couldn’t see his credentials as an opener. Healy compared Smith with the legendary Australian batter Sir Don Bradman and backed him to open for the Aussies in the 2024 T20 World Cup and even at the ODI World Cup 2023.
He even claimed that the Australian openers David Warner and Aaron Finch are nowhere near their best, so Smith would be the best option to try out at the top of the batting order in T20Is.
Ian Healy told Sportsday NSW: “Definitely, how could you not? Who opened with Warner in the T20 World Cup? It was Finchy who was captain. Both Warner and Finch aren't playing anywhere near as well as Smith, so he overtakes both of those in my eyes with the way he's batting now.”
The 58-year-old added, “We don't play many international T20s so hopefully he's doing this (scoring big in BBL) in the lead-up to the next World Cup. Even in the 50-over game I'd be opening with him as well.”
Healy also feels there are very few batters in Australia whose technique came anywhere close to Smith's. He continued, “I feel like it's a privilege watching him. When he gets out, seeing how hard the others are doing it, the discrepancy between him and the rest is unbelievable, it's very Bradman-like.”
He's just doing it so easily and how he's done it, he'd have a technical idea of what he's doing -- he's talking grip and everything like that, but I like his feet, his feet are still and his head is still.”
Healy signed off by saying, “When he played at his best maybe three years ago or four years ago, he was walking all over the place but when the bowler delivered the ball he was dead still, and his feet were set. He's finding the middle of the bat incredibly often and it feels like a privilege watching him play like this, he wasn't doing it six months ago.”
(With PTI Inputs)
