A normally reliable slips fielder, Steve Smith has struggled in India, leaving questions back home. Now, it appears the mystery has finally been solved.
Steve Smith confirmed suspicions that a degenerative condition in his back is causing him discomfort in India where he has missed a few chances in slips.
The acting captain refused to blame the injury for his failings.
Smith’s back has been sore since partaking in the BBL on the back of a five Test summer. Cricket Australia had encouraged Smith, David Warner and other stars to play the domestic T20 league on the eve of the Border Gavaskar Trophy and Warner complained of being “weary” before the first Test.
“I’ve got a degenerative disc in my back which I’ve had knowingly since 2010, every now and again I get flare ups, this one has just landed a little longer than I would have liked,” Smith conceded on the eve of the third Test.
“It’s not really too bad to be honest, I just probably won’t bowl. Outside of that I’m alright.”
It has been noted that Smith is not crouching as low as the experts advise in the slips but avoided blaming the injury when asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “They just haven’t gone in I suppose, which happens in this game.
“I’m still working hard on my fielding, I’m still catching lots of balls in training sometimes that happens in a game. As long as I’m getting the work in and focusing on that. You can’t really blame someone if they’re doing that.”
Michael Clarke suffered from a similar condition in three of his discs.
Smith had been, unusually, walking in while fielding in the cordon during the summer but has changed his approach during this series.
“I was initially at the start of the summer when I had a hip issue and it felt good so I stuck with it. On Australian pitches it can work a bit more when the ball generally comes up a bit higher, but I changed at the back end of last game to try and stand a bit lower, because the catches generally come up a bit lower.
“It was probably a technical mistake on my behalf at the start. I’ve rectified that and I’m standing more still.”
With Warner gone from the series there is little chance Smith can be given a break from the slip cordon.
Experts suggest that the less time he spends there the better as he can loosen his back in the outfield.
Smith is one of those batsmen who rarely sweeps – and if he does it is almost from a standing position.
He did, however, sweep in the second innings at Delhi and was furious at himself for getting out to the shot.
His dismissal was the first wicket in an 8-25 landslide that cost Australia the game.
“I’ve played what 95 Test matches, I think, and I don’t think there’s been too many times I’ve walked off the field and I’ve gone, ‘what the hell am I doing?’,: he said.
“I was pretty angry. There hasn’t been too many times in my career where I’ve actually come off and just been bedazzled by what I’ve done. It wasn’t my finest moment. Certainly something to learn from, I’m still learning as well. It wasn’t way I wanted to play, particularly when I had the field set for all of us actually, they had the field out.
“When we’ve got them on the ropes, we can slow things down. We don’t have to play at such a high tempo and risky tempo. Because we had them where we wanted them, we had men out and the ability to get off strike. We just rushed it”
AUSSIES NOT THE ONLY GREEN INVESTORS SWEATING ON THIRD TEST
It’s fair to say everybody from the billionaire Indian Ambani family to the Australian cricket Team have been sweating on the state of the broken index finger on Cameron Green’s right hand.
For the Ambanis, who own the Mumbai Indians and the IPL broadcast rights, the health of their $3.15m player is critical ahead of his debut.
The Australian cricket team too could not be more invested in the health of Green whose all round skills make him the most valuable part of the team puzzle.
Few, if any, can bring their batting skills to the top six and provide the class of bowling that allows the flexibility to play three spinners on the subcontinent.
Green was always said to be “touch and go” ahead of the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, but his absence from the second was a disappointment and a significant set back for the team.
Question were asked about the decision to bat him for 40 overs after suffering the initial break in the Boxing Day match. The all rounder showed enormous courage to tough it out while Alex Carey scored his maiden Test century and even endured a subsequent blow to the finger. Australia’s medical team insist this did not extend his recovery period.
However, with the series on the line in Delhi, the conservative option was taken. The selectors then took the radical decision to field just one seamer, Pat Cummins, to bowl with the three spinners.
“It certainly helps with Greeny available giving us two genuinely quick options, it gives us the ability to play three if we want to, the surface looks pretty similar to the last couple of Tests,” he said. “I dare say we are going to see a lot of spin bowled in the Test match. It’s certainly an option for us,” a returning Mitch Starc said.
Starc, like the all rounder, was left out of the second Test after injuring his finger at Melbourne but gave every indication he wanted to play no matter what the discomfort.
“It’s good enough,” Starc said two days out from the third Test. “If I only played when I was at 100% I would have only played five or 10 Tests. I’m happy with where it’s at and I’ve built up enough of a pain threshold to deal with that stuff over the last 10 or 12 years.”
Australia seem certain to bring in Starc for Pat Cummins who has returned home to be with his dying mother Maria. Green will essentially come in for David Warner, although it will be Matthew Renshaw _ Warner’s concussion sub in the second Test _ who loses their spot.
The visitors finally have the closest thing to a first pick XI for the series. They’ve needed Starc for his swing skills, his lower order batting and his ability to blast out lower order batsmen who on this tour have provided the bulk of India’s runs. The massive footmarks he provides outside the right handers off stumps will be welcome by the Australian off spin bowlers as much as they will be a concern to Australia’s right handed batters.
The third Test at the Holkar stadium in Indore is Australia’s best chance to salvage something from this series. Ahmedabad venue for the fourth, looms ominous with 17 and 18 of the 20 England wickets to fall there in the recent series against England all going to Ravi Ashwin and Axar Patel.
The Indore wicket is no surprise, its got a cover of grass back of a length and is a desert on a length, but that is what visiting teams now get in India. Even their own batters struggle these days.
Ravi Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin have taken 31 of the 40 Australian wickets to fall in this series at an average of around 12.5.
Smith concedes they are one of the more difficult pairs to face at home.
“In these conditions, they’re amazing bowlers,” he said. “They’re always at you, they’re challenging you and they’ve just been outstanding. The wickets we’ve had so far have obviously suited spin bowling so far, taking the bulk of the wickets.
“They’re always challenging. They’re very good but, I think the disappointing aspect from us last Test match is we had them on the ropes and we probably rushed things a little bit in that second innings. We had the opportunity to get a good lead and we played some uncharacteristic shots, a few of us and didn’t quite get on top of them when we had them in a position where we had them under a bit of threat.”
Smith concedes that the pressure leads to moments of madness _ like his sweep to Jadeja in that triggered the 8-25 landslide in the second innings at Delhi.
“I’ve played what 95 Test matches, I think, and I don’t think there’s been too many times I’ve walked off the field and I’ve gone, ‘what the hell am I doing?’,: he said.
“I was pretty angry. There hasn’t been too many times in my career where I’ve actually come off and just been bedazzled by what I’ve done. It wasn’t my finest moment. Certainly something to learn from, I’m still learning as well. It wasn’t way I wanted to play, particularly when I had the field set for all of us actually, they had the field out.
“When we’ve got them on the ropes, we can slow things down. We don’t have to play at such a high tempo and risky tempo. Because we had them where we wanted them, we had men out and the ability to get off strike. We just rushed it”
Originally published as Steve Smith battling degenerative back complaint