Mojo regained!

Updated On: 16 February, 2025 07:35 AM IST | Mumbai | Sunil Gavaskar

If anybody wants proof that opening the batting is an altogether different examination, then Smith’s travails as an opener and his return to the heavy scoring batter that he was when he went back to the No. 4 position, is a very telling example

Steve Smith celebrates his century during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle earlier this month. Pic/AFP

Last year after David Warner retired from international cricket there was a vacancy created at the top of the order of the Australian opening batting. Warner had been a stalwart of the Australian batting for a long time in all three formats of the game and it was always surprising that when people talked about the Fab Four why they didn’t add his name and make it a Fab Five, so consistent his performances were for Australia. But guess when it comes to discussing batters, the openers are not considered among the rankings. How wrong that assumption is can be seen by the following few words.

Bold move

After Warner’s retirement, the Aussie selectors were in a dilemma who to pick as his replacement and partner Usman Khawaja. There were some candidates who had played for Australia earlier, but not with the kind of success and consistency that was expected of them. This is where Steve Smith who had incredible success at No. 4 raised his hand and offered to open the batting for Australia. It was a strange request considering the giant things he had achieved at the No. 4 position. The Australian selectors had earmarked Cameron Green to bat at No. 4, so they accepted Smith’s decision and gave him the opener’s slot.

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