Steve Smith must tweak the style of his Australia captaincy, writes Ian Chappell

STEVE Smith is an unorthodox batsman and captain, but the MCG was the ideal venue to showcase how both can be very effective.

Steve Smith now has to show his flexibility.

STEVE Smith is not only an unorthodox batsman, at times his captaincy also has a touch of the unconventional about it, but the MCG was the ideal venue to showcase how both can be extremely effective.

Smith first caressed, then proceeded to crash and slash the Pakistan bowlers into a compliant state at the MCG. Then, he opted for late swinging deliveries rather than off-spin to apply the submission hold to his opponents.

His choice of weapon came despite Nathan Lyon rediscovering his rhythm and flight in the middle session and putting Pakistan on the path to destruction.

WARNE THE SHEIK OF PIQUE

Steve Smith now has to show his flexibility. Picture: Wayne Ludbey.

Smith’s ploy worked, as Mitchell Starc demolished the tail while Lyon failed to add to his three priceless victims prior to tea.

There’s no doubt that Smith has more faith in his fast bowlers than the spinners, which is surprising from a part-time leggie. The most telling statistic in comparing Lyon’s form under Smith compared to his performance during Michael Clarke’s captaincy, is the number of five wicket hauls.

Under Clarke, Lyon captured six, with one 10-wicket match but in Smith’s reign he’s yet to collect even one five-wicket haul.

Smith will counter with the argument that his method works. It’s regularly successful in Australia but he’ll have to adjust his strategy if he wants to reverse the team’s losing trend in India.

His method might also need some tweaking at the SCG where the selectors have given themselves the option of playing two spinners.

Captaincy is about knowing your teammates’ capabilities, commonsense while playing the occasional hunch and learning from your mistakes. The SCG Test comes at the perfect time for Smith to work on his strategy as it applies to spin bowlers.

Steve Smith hasn’t used Nathan Lyon as exclusively as Michael Clarke did.

On the disastrous Sri Lankan tour Smith relied heavily on Starc to dismiss the opposition. On that tour Lyon was castigated for not replicating the sparkling form of the Sri Lankan spinners. It’s time to ask: “Is Australia’s lack of overseas spin bowling success solely Lyon’s fault or do bowler and captain need to ensure they’re on the same page?”

If Australia does play two spinners at the SCG — and all signs point in that direction — this would be the ideal time for Smith to become better acquainted with the subtler side of captaincy.

A successful Test where the Australian spinners play a big role would not only give Smith a satisfying whitewash over Pakistan, it would also be a timely reminder to India that the upcoming series won’t be a pushover.

Smith will always have to rely on Starc and Josh Hazlewood to do much of the heavy lifting but the load is better shared when the support bowlers are making timely contributions.

The minor tweaking that Smith may need to indulge in, is minimal when compared with the problems that lay ahead of Misbah-ul-Haq. Firstly, the Pakistan captain has to decide if his batting is worthy of a place in the side.

The Australia captain will face his biggest test in India.

If he decides to play he’ll have to put much more thought into both his batting and captaincy. Pakistan’s performance on the final day highlighted the difference between a team that thought the game could still be won and another who felt the draw was a foregone conclusion.

The fault for Pakistan slipping to such depths with their sloppy fielding and mindless bowling, has to fall at the feet of Misbah. At the commencement of the series the SCG Test appeared to be Pakistan’s best hope of victory. Now it will be a test of their character to see if they can stop from sliding to oblivion.

Six weeks ago it was Australia that was in danger of sinking without a trace after a horrendous collapse in Hobart. In a short time Smith has moulded a batting line-up that now suitably complements a bowling line-up capable of taking 20 wickets at a reasonable cost.

Having achieved those not inconsiderable improvements Smith now has the opportunity to take his captaincy to the next level. You can bet that India captain Virat Kohli will be watching Australia’s progress at the SCG with interest.