Steve Smith can bat. Yes, he can not only bat but score runs
in plenty and he doesn’t get satisfied with a hundred only – a daddy hundred is
needed to satisfy his appetite. But the picture was different eight years ago. On
December 2009, Steve was called into the Australian squad as a cover of injured
Nathan Haruitz before a Test against West Indies at Perth. Smith had to wait 18
more months to wear the Baggy Green Cap.
A dissatisfied Terry Jenner said, “In my view he’s not just
ready for this level of cricket”. Terry was someone who predicted, Smith would
be one of the best wrist spinners for Australia if given enough time and space,
but he was not in favour of Smith’s early entry to Test squad. Neither Terry
nor the Australian selectors could deny how desperate they all were during to
that period to discover another Shane Warne despite knowing the fact, such
legends are born once in a generation.
Smith made his debut at Lord’s in 2010 against Pakistan and
showed glimpses of his talent as an all-rounder, but since then, his expertise
remained a mystery to all – all kept guessing about whether Smith is a
legspinner or a bowling allrounder.
***
After watching that daring 77 at Leeds against Pakistan in
2010, I came to the conclusion, he was going to be another limited-overs
sensation and obviously a poster boy of franchise-based league cricket. His
technique was no way near Test standard and he was more of a slam-bang sort of
batter. My interest waned about him.
But in cricket, you don’t always need the ideal technique to
flourish. There are so many examples and the biggest of them all is Sir Don
Bradman, whose greatness developed on his own technique. Javed Miandad was
another batsman who became the backbone of Pakistan batting relying on his
self-made technique. Gradually, Smith would register his name in the school of
self-made technique since 2014 and would continue to plunder the bowlers around
the park by scoring daddy hundreds.
Not only that, he would also be given the captaincy of
Australian team – a matter which was never thought when he made his debut and
when Ponting was angry with him during World Cup 2011 about a catch. He lacked
temperamental refinement. But he learned fast to adjust with everything and the
result is, he is captain of Australia at present.
***
Smith lacks the aggression of Ian Chappell or technical
brain of Mark Taylor as a captain, but still, he is someone who has the ability
to lead from the front. In this years’s Ashes, he was found wanting as a
captain on the field at Brisbane, but he made that irrelevant with a gutsy hundred
and at Perth, he responded to England’s glory in first innings with a double
ton – a ton which battered his counterpart Joet Root and his men
psychologically. As the day progressed, it proved more to be Smith v England.
How good was the hundred at Perth? In my opinion, it was just
better as I have seen his best in India on testing tracks and all those
hundreds were scored on the basis of self-made technique. You cannot say, he
struggles on turning tracks as he learned fast after that debacle in Sri Lanka.
He can play pace and spin very well or may be there is still another exam left
where he needs to pass – swing bowling. But the way he is learning fast, in a
matter of time, he might overcome that with flying colours as well.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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