Australian chief selector George Bailey has confirmed that star Australian batter Steve Smith will open the batting in the first Test against West Indies in Adelaide. The usual No. 4 batter’s promotion put a break on conundrum for the Aussies in their search to replace David Warner, who announced his retirement from Tests recently as well. However, Smith will open the batting with Usman Khawaja, with all-rounder Cameron Green now scheduled to bat at No. 4 as well.
“Tongue in cheek I could say everything’s an experiment,” Bailey said when he was asked if it was an experiment. “That’s been part of the discussions with Steve, I believe he’s keen for this to be a significant chapter of his career. We don’t look too far ahead… (but) for all intents and purposes this is where Steve wants to stay.”
However, George Bailey again stated that the challenge of opening the batting in Test cricket was an ‘itch that Smith would like to scratch’. Meanwhile, Steve Smith has never opened in Tests. The closest he batted at No. 3, where he has scored 1,744 runs in 29 innings which came at an average of 67.08.
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“It’s selfless that someone who has had so much success in one position or a couple of positions in the middle order is open and willing and hungry to have a crack at something new and something different,” he said.
Meanwhile, another player who was there in the discussion for the opening spot was Cameron Bancroft. However, the two-match Test series between Australia and West Indies will start on January 17.
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“Categorically no (issue between players and Bancroft). And I’ve shared this with Cameron on a number of occasions. It’s never been discussed, from the panel’s perspective, it’s purely a cricketing decision. There’s not a member of the team who would have an issue with Cam playing. We certainly don’t have an issue with it. I think a lot of people forget the fact that Cam’s actually played Test cricket since returning from the ban. It was a long time ago. We’ve all moved well past that. I’d be disappointed if people were looking to that as a reason… that’s not the case. Never has been and never will be,” Bailey added.
