Following their third successive Test series whitewash on Asian soil, Australian captain Steven Smith has admonished himself for not leading from the front in Sri Lanka. In his column for Fox Sports, the 27-year old regretted the extravagant use of cross-bat shots on pitches which turned square from the outset.
Smith wrote, “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t replayed my dismissals from this series over and over in my head when I’ve been alone in my hotel room. Looking back, there are several shots that I regret playing.“
Even though the right-hander ended the series as Australia’s leading run-scorer with 247 runs at an average of 41.16, he only crossed the fifty-mark twice and could not live up to his reputation as the number one ranked Test batsman.
One of the major reasons behind his inconsistency was the extensive experience of Rangana Herath who sent him back to the dressing room on five of those six occasions by resorting to subtle variations.
Acknowledging the situation, Smith summarized, “I regret playing a cut shot and getting bowled by Rangana Herath – twice. Those ones really hurt me because I’d practiced that exact thing in the nets a huge amount in the lead-up to this series. I know I need to play with a straighter bat in these conditions in order to protect myself from the ball that stays low. So to get out trying to play a cut shot is extremely disappointing.“
He added, “I also regret standing on middle and leg stump in the second innings of the first Test, and getting out lbw. If I was batting on leg stump I probably would have got my bat in the way, and not been out. Those sorts of things make me angry with myself, given how much I’ve prepared for those scenarios in the nets. I really need to make sure I learn from those mistakes so they don’t happen again.”
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However, Smith’s worries will be somewhat reduced since Herath has retired from the limited-overs formats. Heaping praise on the veteran’s skills, he shed light on their interesting interactions off the field.
The Sydney-born cricketer revealed, “We actually had a drink with the Sri Lankans after the game, and I had a chat to Herath about his bowling tactics. I joked with him that he better stay retired from one-dayers because now I might finally be able to score some runs!”
“I normally wouldn’t talk so openly with an opponent like that, but he got me out so often that I needed to try work out what to do! I really appreciated him being so open with me – I guess he figures he won’t be around next time we visit Sri Lanka so he can share a few of his tactics with us.“
With the first ODI beginning at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo tomorrow, Smith would be hoping that a change in format will also help overturn Australia’s fortunes.
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