MELBOURNE: Australia batsman Steve Smith is weighing a “less is more” approach to training in a bid to arrest his form slump following advice from former teammate Mike Hussey during the first Test against India.
Once the team’s batting maestro, 35-year-old Smith heads into the third Test in Brisbane under major pressure after managing a total of 19 runs in three innings.
The meagre returns in the series-opener in Perth and second match in Adelaide have come despite a reversion to his favoured number four slot in the batting order following a failed stint as an opener.
With pundits writing off his chances of regaining career-best form, Smith approached fellow batting obsessive Hussey who produced arguably his best cricket when on the wrong side of 35.
“It’s well documented that him and Marnus (Labuschagne) in particular, they hit a lot of balls, they practise really hard and they do a great deal of preparation,” Hussey told Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au).
“And I just said (to Smith), ‘It’s worth just thinking about how much you hit, and is it actually helping you, or is it slightly detrimental?’ “I think as a young player, volume is really important.
But as you get older, I certainly found from my own perspective, it wasn’t about hitting more balls and working yourself into the ground. “It was more about coming into games as mentally and physically fresh as you possibly can.”
Nicknamed “Mr Cricket” for his enthusiasm for the game, Hussey scored eight Test centuries after turning 35 before retiring in 2013 with an average of 51.52 from 79 Tests.
Smith took a leaf out of Hussey’s book and did not train on the day before the Adelaide Test, hoping to be fresh for a big score. It didn’t materialise as he was out for two runs, nicking Jasprit Bumrah down the leg-side.
“In an ideal world, I probably wouldn’t hit as many balls as I do in the lead-up,” said Smith.
“It’s just if I need to feel a bit better with something or work on a certain movement or whatever, I might need that last session.”
Smith has been dismissed by Indian pace each time, raising questions about his defence. Fans question how long a team crying out for regeneration can afford to carry him.
Once the standard-setter in Australian batting, Smith is now looking at what works for his teammates in more bowler-friendly conditions that have emerged in recent years.
“In the last two years or so, while the wickets have been tricky, the guys getting runs are probably the ones going harder at the ball, almost keeping their bodies out of the way, giving themselves room in a way, and hitting hard and scoring quickly,” he said.
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“Travis (Head) and Mitch Marsh are two prime examples there. “For me, there’s a balance. Obviously you’ve got to try and put the bowler under some kind of pressure and try and dictate terms a little bit. “But that can be tricky on those sorts of wickets as well.”
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