Cricket 2022: Tracking the fall of Australian star Steve Smith and how he might turn things around

There are a number of theories as to why Steve Smith hasn’t been the same since Bradman-like 2019 Ashes series. Ben Horne looks into each one, in order to answer the big question.

When Steve Smith crashed to earth after being hit by a brutal Jofra Archer bouncer, the wider world marvelled at the fact it took him just 18 days to recover.

Smith’s extraordinary Ashes-clinching 211, produced the very next time he walked out to bat in a Test match at Old Trafford, was proof this run-scoring superman had no kryptonite.

But almost three years on from his Bradman-like 2019 Ashes series, the question needs to be asked whether there actually might have been something knocked out of Smith that day at Lord’s that hasn’t quite returned.

Many disagree, and feel the more likely explanation for Smith suffering a downturn from greatness to goodness might be the effects of the pandemic.

That Smith – who had already served a 12-month ban for sandpaper-gate – has been robbed of continuity at the peak of his career with protracted periods of no Test matches for Australia over the past two years.

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Has the pandemic been the downfall of Steve Smith? Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Smith, a batsman who thrives on “volume” and “rhythm”, has played just 18 Test matches since his Cricket Australia enforced suspension. In that same period, England captain Joe Root has played 48 and India’s Virat Kohli 33.

Of course Smith’s ‘issues’ are all relative, and most Test batters would consider ‘plummeting’ to a Test average of 46.42, since the Archer incident at Lord’s, as very much a first-world problem.

If those are your lean years, then you’re going OK as a batsman with a career average of 59.87.

But Smith has scored only one hundred in the three home summers since those Ashes and his recent snubbing by the IPL – as a former $2 million franchise captain – is a sign the aura of invincibility has been broken.

The question now is can Smith, at 32 years of age, rise from mere mortal to superhuman once more?

THE ARCHER INCIDENT

When West Indian speedster Kemar Roach hit the great Ricky Ponting – master hooker, champion extraordinaire – there was a wound that never healed.

A rapid bouncer at the WACA in 2009 that Ponting didn’t pick up, cannoned into his elbow, forced him to retire hurt for the first time in his career, and from that point on, he was never quite the same against the short ball.

Now the same question is being asked of Smith.

So sickening was the sight of him hitting the deck on day four at Lord’s that Archer feared the very worst might have happened as Smith lay motionless.

“It’s hard for me to answer, because I don’t know. He would have to answer that. But I will say that he probably hasn’t looked as comfortable against the short ball over the last couple of years,” said Fox Cricket expert, Mike Hussey.

“Certainly in that series against New Zealand (2019-20) they managed to dismiss him a few times and he went through a few different ways on how he wanted to play it – whether it was just duck and weave or take it on – there was a little bit of doubt in his mind there I think with how he wants to play it.

“I wouldn’t say he’s a poor player of the short ball, whatsoever, but getting a nasty blow like that can shake you up for a while.

Smith lays on the pitch after being hit in the head by a ball off the bowling of England's Jofra Archer in 2019. Picture: Adrian Dennis/AFP

Ricky Ponting after being struck on the elbow by a short delivery from Kemar Roach in 2009. Picture: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

“I think back to when Ricky Ponting was playing and he got hit on the elbow to Kemar Roach at the WACA, and we hadn’t seen that very often before. I feel like watching Ricky after that, he wasn’t the same and didn’t have the same confidence playing the short ball again.

“That (Archer ball to Smith) was a really nasty blow. It was unbelievable how hard it hit him and I think when something happens and you just don’t even see it or it’s totally out of the blue and you weren’t expecting it I think that can knock your confidence a little bit.

“Maybe there’s something in that, I don’t know.”

Hussey isn’t alone in pondering this question, and Smith has missed series with concussions since – although unrelated to the short ball – in the shape of a one-day tour of England in 2020 and last weekend, when he hit his head attempting a spectacular piece of fielding on the boundary rope against Sri Lanka.

Smith himself has always maintained the line that Archer “never got me out” and is adamant it hasn’t phased him.

Fellow Fox Cricket analyst Brad Haddin also disagrees with this theory but believes the tactics started by New Zealand, and employed by opposition teams since, to target Smith with short balls and leg side fields has thrown the master off his beat.

“I don’t think so. I just think he’s got to come up with a game style because they’re bowling different to him,” said Haddin.

“Teams around the world have bowled really smart to him. They’ve taken his scoring opportunities away, which means he has to stay out there a lot longer to get his runs.

“One thing he has done is I think he’s gone too defensive, rather than put the game back on the opposition.

“We know that’s where he’s at his best when he’s being proactive in the game, and he’s trying to move the game forward. I think he might have gone a bit into (the mindset of) … just trying to occupy the crease and the runs might come.”

Smith batting during the fourth Test against England. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Australian batting coach Michael Di Venuto is the man who knows Smith’s game as well as anyone, having spent hours upon hours working with him in the nets for a large portion of his career.

Di Venuto cannot see how the Archer ball has changed Smith and believes the shackles opposition teams have tried to put on him will only hold for so long.

“I wouldn’t say so but only he can truly answer that one. I see no difference in his training methods and things like that,” he said.

“He’s still very happy to face short balls and get in there and practice them.

“I guess (short bowling and field tactics) have stopped him from scoring heavily throughout that area and it’s also provided a couple of challenges for him where he’s been dismissed a couple of times that way.

“The faster bowlers go at Steve in that area, but that’s part of the challenges of being a great player; people are always trying to find chinks in your armour.

“The beauty about that is the response that’s going to happen from Smudge.

“Obviously he hasn’t scored the runs he would have liked in recent times, so for me that’s pretty exciting to know what the response is going to be from that.”

PANDEMIC BLUES

Australia has not played an overseas Test since the 2019 Ashes and there is a feeling Smith will relish the return of a full schedule involving tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka this year.

“Steve Smith as we know is a volume player,” said Haddin.

“He likes to hit a lot of balls. It doesn’t work for everyone, but he has his own unique style where he does hit a lot of balls and gets into rhythm.

“Having that stop start nature (during the pandemic) I think it has definitely played a role.

“Now though, I think the consistency of the cricket coming up will play into his hands perfectly. He’s someone who likes to play consistent cricket and he is someone who holds form for a long time.

“I think this will suit him. We know how meticulous he is with his preparation, he’ll be able to prepare for the sub-continent, where he trusts his technique and more importantly his defence, and he knows how to score.

“He’ll be looking forward to this.”

Di Venuto is confident Smith is on the verge of another flood of runs, having threatened in the Ashes with a 93 in Adelaide and a 67 in Sydney in a series where, overall, conditions were tough for batters.

Hussey also believes getting back on the road can jolt Smith back into gear.

“I would not be surprised in the slightest if we see a bit of a resurgence of Steve Smith and a big strong run over the next couple of years,” Hussey said.

“Again, he’ll work his way through this little period and part of his journey and he’ll come out the other side an even better player because he’s gone through this.”

INTENSITY A BLESSING OR A CURSE?

Former Test selector Greg Chappell has warned in the past that the fierce intensity which has defined Smith as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, also comes with a catch.

The risk of frying in your own juices is more pronounced than it is for the laid back personality, who can more easily mentally disengage from the game when they’re not playing.

Some wise minds around cricket feel Smith and Indian great Virat Kohli are experiencing a similar struggle in that their intensity has caught up with them and they’re now searching too much for runs.

Kohli hasn’t scored a Test century since before the pandemic started in November 2019, while, even by his own quirky standards, Smith looked jumpier at the crease than usual this summer, and it was Usman Khawaja who stood out as the man in serene control of his game when they batted together against England at the SCG.

Smith’s career averages by innings tell a bit of a story that the game wears him down as matches go on.

Smith averages an astonishing 84.95 in the first innings. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

A self-confessed restless sleeper, Smith averages an astonishing 84.95 in the first innings, which comes down to 58 in the second innings, 46.54 in the third and 30.73 when batting in the final innings.

By his own admission, Smith also thrived on getting out to the middle early and rescuing Australia after the fall of early wickets.

But since Marnus Labuschagne’s emergence as a world class No.3, Smith has become more accustomed to walking to the crease at 2-150, rather than 2-20, and this has presented a challenge in itself.

“He’s not in as early as he used to be. He’s been sitting around for a long time. Normally he’s had the opportunity with the hard ball to pace his innings. Now when he’s come out, the ball is softer, the game is set up to have to keep momentum,” said Haddin.

Is Smith’s intensity a blessing or a curse? Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

NOT BRADMAN, BUT COULD STILL BE THE BEST SINCE

One former great of the game said the critique of Smith is harsh, and the forensic search for possible answers about what might have gone wrong pointless.

“I don’t think there’s anything specific. The main thing is the simple fact only Sir Donald Bradman has ever been able to maintain that level for such a long period,” the player said.

“We’re seeing the same with Virat Kohli and Ricky Ponting was the same.

“Smithy is still one of the best batsmen in the world and we’ve got to cut him a bit of slack.”

Mike Hussey agrees.

“It’s impossible to play like that all the time,” he said.

“I think we even said it at the time. That 2019 Ashes was one of the most incredible series from a batsman we’d ever seen, but it’s not going to last like that forever. There’s going to be a time when he battles a little bit or things just don’t quite go his way, and that’s just the way the game is.

“It has this way of levelling things out. He’s still a world class player and I still think in the prime of his career.”

The challenges facing Smith are real, but experts believe it would be foolish to write off the mercurial genius.

“I don’t see it as a concern. The greats of the game, Ricky Ponting, Matt Hayden, Steve Waugh, they’re great problem solvers. That’s why they’re so good at their craft,” said Haddin.

“I have no doubt Steve will turn it around.”