Steven Smith to move down to No.4

Steven Smith will be pushing himself down the order for the team

Australia captain Steven Smith will drop down to No. 4 for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. The World No. 2 ranked test batsman told the Daily Telegraph that the move is to balance the batting order with Joe Burns opening the batting alongside David Warner and Usman Khawaja to be the new No. 3.

Australia's search for a No. 3 to replace Ricky Ponting looked to be over with Smith taking over the mantle. But, despite averaging 71.9 in that position, with three centuries and two fifties in 2015, the loss of experienced batsmen following the Ashes has led to his demotion to No. 4, where he averages 80. The rejigged batting lineup will now feature two relatively inexperienced international batsmen in the top three.

"I think breaking the more experienced players up a little bit in the order [is the right thing to do]," Smith told the Daily Telegraph. "If there's a run of wickets hopefully I can stop it. I think a lot of the players that are coming through at the moment are top-order players.”

“It's just the way I see it at the moment. Breaking it up between Davey and myself and hopefully the guys at the top and No.3 do well and then I can just come in and get some runs on the board as well," he continued.

Khawaja, who will be playing his first test in more than two years, has played 116 of his 157 first-class innings at No. 3, whereas Smith has been a floater for most of his red-ball career. Smith’s versatility gives Australia more options, should the new top order fail.

"I think it would probably be more if it doesn't work out for certain players [that I would change back]," Smith said. "If it didn't work out and I saw it fit to go to three, that's no drama as well. I really don't see a big difference between three and four playing wise."

The New Zealand test series, which starts on Thursday at Brisbane will be the 26-year-old’s first home summer as Australia's full-time captain and he will be hoping to replicate last season’s performances where he scored hundreds in all four Tests against India.

"One of my philosophies is to make sure I am leading from the front," Smith said. "So hopefully I can do that this summer and a summer with the bat like the last one would be nice, so we'll see how it goes."