Published: Aug 17, 2015, 02:25 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 17, 2015, 03:24 PM (IST)
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has suggested that Steven Smith should continue to bat at number three, after the latter revealed that he had planned to drop himself to the fourth position in order to extract the best out of the team. The idea of pushing Smith up the order, that began from the two Tests in the tour of West Indies earlier in the year, had seemed to work as he had scored 199 and 54 not out in the second Test against the Windies and just a couple of Tests later he was seen celebrating a double hundred at Lord’s. However, his last four Test innings were ended in single digits and the sudden retirement of Michael Clarke has probably forced him to re-think about his batting position. READ: Steven Smith says winning away Tests is first priority as Australian skipper
According to a report from Fox Sports, Ponting who was the best ever number three batsman the Australians produced, said:” I firmly believe that as Australia’s new captain Steven Smith should continue batting at No. 3 once he takes on the role. I know there have been a few people saying that he’s not a long-term option in that position based on what they have seen in this Ashes series, but I definitely think it is where he should bat from here on.”
Overall Smith averages 64.80 from his six matches at No.3, compared to his average of 70.32 from his 18 matches batting at No.4 or No.5.
The former cricketer, who even acknowledged about Smith being the top-ranked Test batsman a couple of weeks back, believes that these problems are temporary with Smith and with time the 26-year –old can overcome the shortcomings in his game. READ: Steven Smith asks Australian public to back team after Ashes 2015
“England took note of how dominant he was in that game and also how much he was moving across his crease. They have bowled wider and wider to him across the series, and if he’s going to persist with that pronounced pre-movement, it will probably continue against most of the bowling attacks Steve faces. Between now and the Test tour of Bangladesh, Steve will have a little bit of time to think about what he wants to do with his foot movement.
“I wondered at times during the first four Tests whether he was completely sure how far across he was getting from one ball to the next, because it’s hard to move the exact same distance every time, particularly under pressure,” he added. READ: England Ashes heroes draw caricatures of each other for charity
