Steve Smith

[SteveNZ]

I was thinking about that last night, what a good fielder Smith is. He's taken some incredible catches over the years, first in the ring earlier in his career and more lately at slip. But no one really talks about it presumably because it's overshadowed by his batting. He's easily the best catcher (?fielder) in Australia, and you'd be hard pressed to find any better around the world.

I've never understood batsmen who don't have good hands. Presumably you can see the ball well at pace, so practice a few times and whammo you're a safe slipper. But yeah, Smith is exceptional. He probably sees it so early and we know he has the work ethic, so he's always going to be.

 

[Adders]

I played with a bloke that used to take a slash in the middle of an over fielding at mid-wicket. Literally at the edge of the square.

Now I understand how you claim to be the most intelligent person in any team you've played in.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I still think Franky Worrall showing off his artistic ability on the pitch next to the one being played on at the time has to be one of the funniest stories ever of that sort

Oh wait. I never realised Riggins actually played that specific game. Knew he played a bit of futures league but I didn't realise he was there then

 

[TheJediBrah]

Now I understand how you claim to be the most intelligent person in any team you've played in.

He was an investment banker

 

[flibbertyjibber]

I played with a bloke that used to take a slash in the middle of an over fielding at mid-wicket. Literally at the edge of the square.

That wasn't as bad as when he took a dump on a length.

 

[stephen]

He was an investment banker

You already said he was pissing all over everything, no need to repeat yourself.

 

[Daemon]

I don't really like Steve Smith that much, so having discovered his 4th innings average is quite poor (24 innings, avg 30 with 0 tons) the difficulty (not value) of scoring 4th innings runs has suddenly gone up in my estimation. As such I've concluded that he does not bat well in the toughest conditions of the match and should have 15 deducted from his career average.

Seriously though, what's up with that record? Maybe something to do with him not getting much sleep during tests?

 

[Compton]

I don't really like Steve Smith that much, so having discovered his 4th innings average is quite poor (24 innings, avg 30 with 0 tons) the difficulty (not value) of scoring 4th innings runs has suddenly gone up in my estimation. As such I've concluded that he does not bat well in the toughest conditions of the match and should have 15 deducted from his career average.

Seriously though, what's up with that record? Maybe something to do with him not getting much sleep during tests?

Part of it probably related to how infrequently Smith will be playing ‘his game’ in the fourth innings.

Australia will either be chasing (maybe with an eye on the clock) or surviving, and so Smith will have to do something other than his preferred method of playing.

 

[Spark]

I don't really like Steve Smith that much, so having discovered his 4th innings average is quite poor (24 innings, avg 30 with 0 tons) the difficulty (not value) of scoring 4th innings runs has suddenly gone up in my estimation. As such I've concluded that he does not bat well in the toughest conditions of the match and should have 15 deducted from his career average.

Seriously though, what's up with that record? Maybe something to do with him not getting much sleep during tests?

That's my personal theory. He visibly was less focussed today than usual, and that happens a fair bit to him when he bats in the 4th innings.

Even that 3rd innings at Dharamshala where he looked like he would singlehandedly wreck India's attack, he was playing way more shots than usual there. It's worth noting that he basically never gets out defending, so the more shots he plays before he's set, the more likely he is to get out in general.

There's also the factor that often, his efforts in the first and second innings means that he's not really required to do a lot in the third and fourth innings. Which is why I firmly believe that first innings runs, first innings runs uber alles.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

His second century at Edgbaston was only his fourth in the second innings. I don’t know what the general disparity is for other great batsman.

 

[Chrish]

He had flu during this game and was on medications..

Still, no one should be expected to play magic innings in 4th inning.

 

[Spark]

His second century at Edgbaston was only his fourth in the second innings. I don’t know what the general disparity is for other great batsman.

In order (1st 2nd 3rd 4th)

Tendulkar: 66 55 47 37
Ponting: 61 53 39 51
Lara: 70 59 40 35
Kallis: 56 53 65 41
Sangakkara: 55 68 57 42

So that would suggest that Smith isn't really unusual in that sense for someone who typically plays in bat-first conditions.

 

[Anil]

is it fair to say that when the pressure was on with an ashes series win in the balance, smith choked? i am sure burgey who says tendulkar is a choker because of his world cup final failures would agree...

 

[Lillian Thomson]

is it fair to say that when the pressure was on with an ashes series win in the balance, smith choked? i am sure burgey who says tendulkar is a choker because of his world cup final failures would agree...

Not much point in bating someone who’s currently banned.

 

[stephen]

First innings runs in a test tend to be more valuable than second innings runs due to the affect they have on the game state, player mentalities and bowler fatigue.

Smith is as poor in his 4th innings as half our batting lineup is across all innings. It's clearly an area he can improve and I'd like to see him take some meditation course or sleeping pills to help him get good rest during tests.

 

[the big bambino]

Four or five of his 4th innings scores were made before he became Steve Smith - which was around 2014/15. Past that season his 4th innings average is around 37. Still nowhere near his standards but kind of respectable on (usually) last day pitches.

 

[Gob]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...s-says-monty-panesar/articleshow/71080949.cms
g00d from monty

 

[morgieb]

It's even funnier when Monty admitted to ball-tampering himself.

 

[TheJediBrah]

It's even funnier when Monty admitted to ball-tampering himself.

and Steve Smith didn't lol

 

[GotSpin]

Monty pissed on a bouncer...