Six balls are not much of a sample size, but it proved more than enough for Steve Smith to adapt his game between innings on a “tricky” Grenada pitch and produce the defining knock of the second Test to keep the Frank Worrell Trophy in Australia’s hands.
Renowned as one of the best problem solvers in world cricket, such was the ease at which Smith scored his 71 runs from 119 balls in his second innings on Saturday that it led batting partner Cameron Green to quip that it seemed like the batting maestro was “batting on a different wicket”.
After top-edging Alzarri Joseph to fine leg six balls into his return from a dislocated finger on day one at the National Stadium in St George’s, Smith had seen enough to prompt tweaks his approach in the second innings.
“I stayed a lot stiller, I was batting on middle stump and just trying to access the ball as much as possible and if one (delivery) shot low, try to get my bat jammed down on it,” Smith told cricket.com.au after Australia wrapped up a 133-run win over West Indies on day four, along with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“When I go across my stumps normally, that’s when the bounce is pretty consistent and I can trust the balls aren’t going to shoot (low).
“When the balls are shooting, I want to try and keep my bat as straight as possible and access that one as much as you can when it stays low.
“I got into a couple of good positions with ones that did shoot and got my bat underneath it … which I was happy with.”
The right-hander also had the added – and unfamiliar – challenge of batting while wearing splint on his right little finger after dislocating it fielding at slip in last month’s World Test Championship final loss to South Africa, which led to him missing Australia’s series-opening win in Barbados last week.
He revealed post-match the splint had prompted another change between innings, switching to his T20 grip in the second after being forced to use his top hand more than usual with the affected digit “stuck straight” due to the heavy strapping.
“It was a little bit different (to normal) because I can’t bend it really, it’s stuck straight almost,” he said.
“But I felt good out there; I had to change a couple of things with my grip going from first innings to second innings with my finger, and it took me a little while to just get my placement.
“I hit the field a couple of times where I probably wouldn’t have hit it normally, but after that, I started to feel good, and it was nice to contribute.
“I probably have to just use my top hand a little bit more than I normally would, but I can adapt to those things – it’s almost my T20 grip that I’m using at the moment.”
It was perhaps that T20 grip that contributed to it being one of Smith’s quicker half-centuries of late, reaching the milestone from 79 balls and finishing with a strike-rate of 59.66 – his sixth fastest innings of 50 or better in the past five-and-a-half years.
Smith will face a fresh problem to solve in the series finale beginning on Saturday in Jamaica, which will be Australia’s first day-night Test abroad to be played with a pink Dukes ball as opposed to the Kookaburra variety used in home Tests.
The 36-year-old’s most recent visit to Kingston’s Sabina Park during the 2015 tour almost yielded the first double-century of his Test career, adjudged lbw on 199 (he would go on to score 215 a month later at Lord’s), but as the veteran batter noted, that innings was against the red ball.
“The pink ball is not really my best friend to play against,” said Smith, whose average in 12 day-night Tests (38.10) is almost 20 runs fewer than his career mark of 56.34.
“Maybe the Dukes ball is a little bit different to the ‘Kooka’.
“We’ll have a couple of sessions with it see how it responds and how it reacts off the surface.
“I don’t really know what to expect yet … so we’ll see once we get there.”
Qantas Tour of the West Indies
First Test: Australia won by 159 runs
Second Test: Australia won by 133 runs
Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica (4.30am AEST)
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
West Indies Test squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales
First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 11am AEST)
Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 11am AEST)
Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)
Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)
Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)
West Indies T20 squad: TBC
Australia’s T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
