Steve Smith’s batting mentor Michael Di Venuto says best is still ahead for former Test skipper

Having helped Steve Smith’s rise to Test superstar, Michael Di Venuto says the former Australian skipper’s best is yet to come in the wake of his ‘sandpaper-gate’ ban.

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Having presided over Steve Smith’s surge to Test superstar, Michael Di Venuto believes the former Australian skipper’s best is yet to come.

Smith and David Warner on Friday complete 12-month bans from international cricket for ball tampering during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town last March.

Smith, 29, is at peak performance age. He knows the World Cup and Ashes in England are platforms made for the game’s greats.

Steve Smith shows his emotion after being quizzed about sandpapergate at Sydney Airport on his arrival back from South Africa. Picture: PETER PARKS / AFP

“He will be hungry for runs having not played for a year so I expect him to be the player he was, if not better,” said former Australian batting coach Di Venuto of 64-Test batsman Smith.

“I expect much of the same in one day and Test cricket if his elbow is 100 per cent and it doesn’t affect his game.”

Di Venuto, as Australian batting mentor from 2013-16, connected with Smith and the runs flowed.

Smith lifted his Test batting average from 35 on Di Venuto’s appointment to the national set-up in 2013 to 65 when he departed in 2016 for Surrey.

Smith’s three years with former Tasmanian and Australian one-day opener Di Venuto in his corner produced 3593 runs and 14 of 23 Test tons.

Watching the game’s premier batsman, Smith, precluded from international ranks and his integrity questioned was hard to stomach for Di Venuto.

Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft were treated as rank criminals on a walk of shame through airports before leaving South Africa.

“For all those guys involved, the coaching staff and players, it was tough to watch when that all kicked off. Hopefully now they have done their time people can forgive and let them get on,” said Di Venuto of Smith and Warner, both returning from elbow surgery in the Indian Premier League.

Past and present skippers including England’s Michael Atherton, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, India’s Sachin Tendulkar, South Africa’s Faf du Plessis and Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal have all been embroiled in ball tampering incidents resulting in fines or one match International Cricket Council-imposed bans since 1994.

Smith and Bancroft, perhaps thinking they would receive the same, reacted to Australia’s transgression at a post-day three press conference in Cape Town, underestimating the public outrage at home over their bumbling ball tampering. With serious consequences.

Rajasthan Royals' Steve Smith batting at against Kings XI Punjab at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur. Picture: Money SHARMA/AFP

The one-year sanctions handed to Smith and Warner by Cricket Australia were draconian compared to the ICC’s punishment scale.

Bancroft last December completed a nine-month suspension for taking sandpaper on to the field after lunch on the third day of the third Test at Newlands.

“If you look at the whole list of everyone who has been done for ball tampering the penalties our guys got was pretty harsh,” Di Venuto told The Advertiser.

“They (CA) felt that was what needed to be done at the time.”

The fallout from Sandpaper-gate saw CA commission the Ethics Centre to conduct a review of its organisational culture. A 145-page report with 41 recommendations was delivered broadly targeting improvement to Australia’s spirit of cricket.

“Maybe we can look back in five years and say that was a real turning point in Australian cricket,” said Di Venuto.

“We have gone through a year of it and it certainly made it harder for the national team to perform and how the country would like them to perform.

“If out of all of it we end up a better cricket team and people there might be some positives out of it.”

Former head coach Darren Lehmann was cleared of any wrongdoing in Australia’s Cape Town implosion and is admired by Di Venuto.

“I loved my time working under Darren Lehmann in the Aussie environment and Australia’s best players. I loved that time as a batting coach,” said Di Venuto.

Lehmann, Smith and Warner could have used Di Venuto’s calming presence in a pressure-cooker Cape Town Test and series.

Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft face the music after they admitted to attempting to change the condition of the ball by using a foreign object. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Di Venuto left Australia as the No.1-ranked Test and one-day nation three years ago despite pleas from Smith to remain such was his impact across a 5-0 Ashes whitewash and 2015 World Cup win.

Di Venuto dodged Australia’s ball tampering nightmare and coached Surrey to last year’s County championship.

“I am pretty happy where I am at with Surrey, a pretty special place and club with some outstanding people running it,” said Di Venuto, who spent last summer as Adelaide Strikers batting coach under Jason Gillespie.

“To move into a head coaching role at Surrey, a huge club, they expect success which is no different from Australia.

“Winning the championship has been an excellent time for Surrey cricket and the amount of players we are producing for England.”