“I wouldn’t be too quick to judge Steve Smith in the middle" - Andew McDonald

Australia assistant coach Andrew McDonald is not too concerned about Steve Smith's lean patch of form. He revealed that Steve Smith has looked solid while batting in the nets and the few balls that he played during the Boxing Day Test.

Steve Smith is currently going through a horrid phase with the bat. He has not scored a century since the Ashes in September 2019. Smith has recorded scores of 1, 1*, 0 & 8 in the four innings against India so far.

However, Andrew McDonald remarked in a media interaction on Thursday that he wouldn’t be too quick in judging a player of Steve Smith’s class.

“I wouldn’t be too quick to judge Steve Smith in the middle. Yeah, he hasn’t got going yet in this series. In the first four balls, he faced in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test, he looked pretty solid, has looked good at the nets too.”

McDonald has a similar opinion about young prodigy Marnus Labuschagne as well. The 26-year-old has got starts in the series but has failed to go on. He has compiled 129 runs across four innings, with scores reading 47, 6, 48 & 28.

“I don’t think it has to do anything technically. They are technically in a good space but it is the method to score runs and how they are going to combat these tactics from India bowlers and captains, that has been discussed in our conversation.”

The National Selection Panel has chosen an 18-player Australian men’s squad for the remaining two matches of the @VodafoneAU Test Series against India. Read more here: https://t.co/hRInbwxJiz #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/nVgkMcdDoN

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) December 30, 2020

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne need to find answers against India’s tactics: Andrew McDonald

Marnus Labuschagne has got starts but is yet to make a score of note in the series

The Australian assistant coach added that the batting duo of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne need a strategy to combat India’s newfound tactics against them. He also highlighted the leg-side traps that the visitors had set as a specific challenge for the batsmen.

“The question for me at the moment is the tactical way India have prepared and have been able to control those two players especially with a sort of leg-side theory so to speak. So, I suppose those two players will have to come out with a better method.”

The Indian bowlers have had the better of the Australian batsmen so far in the series. The latter will want to come out on top when the battle resumes at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 7 January.

As the #AUSvIND series heads to Sydney, take a look back at Sunil Gavaskar's highest Test score against Australia, at the SCG in 1986 pic.twitter.com/48kKRwkBRb

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 1, 2021