 "Border Gavaskar Trophy: Australia still undecided on Steve Smith's batting position against India, says Andrew McDonald")
Australia remain undecided on Steve Smith’s batting position come the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India later this year, according to head coach Andrew McDonald. While McDonald said that conversations were happening around the right-handed batter's batting position , he did not give away further details.
For more than a decade, Smith had been a crucial figure in Australia’s middle-order, but the retirement of David Warner earlier this year meant that Smith switched to the openers’ slot along with Usman Khawaja. It remains to be seen if Smith will revert back to his No 4 position.
Smith as an opener has produced a mixed outcome. Across four Tests against West Indies and New Zealand combined, the 35 year-old has scored just one half-century at an average of 28.50. His highest score, an unbeaten 91, came in a losing cause against the Windies in Brisbane.
“That’s the question on everyone’s lips, isn’t it? While we’ve got an eye to it, we haven’t made any firm decisions around that one,” McDonald was quoted as saying by SEN radio station.
“There’s plenty of speculation around that. But in the background, I’d be lying if I said the conversation wasn’t happening. There are conversations around a lot of what ifs in terms of that Test summer that is to come."
McDonald stated that Smith’s domestic cricket coach will be kept in loop regarding the plans for the veteran. The decision will be based on if Smith ends up playing Sheffield Shield tournament, Australia’s premier red-ball tournament.
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More Shorts“We’ll unveil everything, and we’ll let (Smith’s coach at New South Wales) Greg Shipperd know what our plans are and then we’ll see what he does with his New South Wales side should Steve Smith play (Sheffield) Shield cricket.”
Captain Pat Cummins has skipped Australia’s ongoing tour to Scotland and England since he is spending time with his family.
Also read | Pat Cummins predicts a '50-50' between India and Australia
The 43 year-old said that Cummins will play a huge part in the selection of Smith. “What am I willing to share? Not a lot at this stage. All I can say is the conversation’s happening,” continued the former Victoria and South Australia cricketer.
“Clearly, Patty Cummins as the captain is a big part of that, he’s rehabbing at the moment, he’s not over here (in Europe).
“We’ve already had some chats in Sydney initially around what we’re thinking for the summer, and that goes right down to depth bowling and what it looks like, all those hypotheticals and what ifs that we always go through.
“Clearly, if we make a shift with Steve Smith, then someone else will have to go to the top," commented McDonald.
“We’ve seen Cameron Green be really successful at No.4 as well. So that sort of adds layers to the decision-making. But nothing is firm and fixed on at the moment.”
The five-match series between Australia and India will get underway on 22 November, with the first Test to be played in Perth. Australia and India are currently the top two teams in the World Test Championships (WTC) standings. The WTC 2025 final will be played at Lord’s from 11 June.
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