Usman Khawaja shared that Steve Smith should return to the No. 4 spot in Tests after Smith struggled as an opener.
Australia’s Test opener Usman Khawaja has picked Travis Head over Steve Smith as his preferred partner for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India.
Following David Warner’s retirement from international cricket, the opening spot, which Warner held for over a decade, has been left vacant, creating a challenge for Australia to fill. While star batter Steve Smith was briefly tried as an opener, he struggled to make a significant impact in his limited outings at the top.
Khawaja, however, believes Smith should return to his usual No. 4 spot in the batting lineup for the best chance to defeat a strong Indian side. “He’ll just probably never say it, so I’ll say it for him. Opening is a very important spot, but I still think we have the best Test player of my era in Steve Smith, and his best spot has been number four. I feel like that’s his best spot. I feel like the best balance for our team is Marnus [Labuschagne] at three, Smith at four,” added Khawaja.
Khawaja emphasized that the team’s goal should be maximizing runs, noting that with Warner opening and Smith at No. 4, Australia had historically scored plenty. “For me, the number one consideration is ‘what’s best for the team?’ What order scores us the most runs? And if you look at how many runs we scored with Davey Warner in the team and Smudge batting at four, we scored a lot of runs,” added the cricketer.
Since stepping in as an opener following Warner’s retirement, Smith has averaged just 28.50 in four Tests, far below his overall Test average of 56.97. Notably, his brief stint as an opener in 2024, which included two Tests against the West Indies and two against New Zealand, yielded only one fifty-plus score.
Last Updated on September 13, 2024
