Australia vs West Indies: Robert Craddock examines Steve Smith, Cameron Green and the batting order shuffle

Steve Smith’s ugly first-innings dismissal — coupled with a Cameron Green failure — has heaped more pressure on Australia’s batting reshuffle. ROBERT CRADDOCK examines what happens now.

It wasn’t just that Steve Smith missed the ball. It was the fact that his bat and the ball seemed to finish in different postcodes.

The man who once had the best eye in cricket fell so far across his crease facing a Kemar Roach off-cutter, he missed it by four centimetres and was lbw to a ball which would have uprooted middle stump had it not hit his pad.

The ugliness of the moment was accentuated by the fact Smith’s feet finished beside each other pointing to the other end of the pitch as the key wicket fell in an Australian collapse which today will be the talk of world cricket.

If his name was John Smith and he was a debutant opener you would say “gee John, you have got some work to do on that technique young man.’’

Steve Smith walks off after being dismissed in Brisbane. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

That’s the thing with eye players. During the prime of their careers they do not need technical excellence because their ability to watch the ball is all that matters and often hides all technical foibles.

But if that eye starts to fade …

Somewhere in New Zealand veteran Kiwi fast bowler Tim Southee would be licking his chops in anticipation of the looming Test series for Southee’s stock in trade — luring a batsman wide then spearing into his stumps — is Smith’s current weakness.

Southee might not be Sir Richard Hadlee … but he’s not bad.

Australia’s experiment to open with Smith and play Cameron Green at four has started with twin failures by both men.

They will be given time, including two more Tests in New Zealand, before a call is made on the batting order for next summer’s five Test series in India. But the stakes are enormously high for both men and Australia.

Kemar Roach appeals for Smith’s wicket. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Smith looks anguished after being struck on the pad.

This move is huge for Smith because he did it to challenge himself and prick his desire levels for the last few years of his career. If he fails it is a nightmare for Australia.

The easy thing to say is that he simply returns to No 4 but that’s not easy at all because that would mean dropping Green.

When every other member of the team is over 30 do you really want to drop a 24-year-old?

Only Smith knows what’s going inside his head but let’s have a guess.

He appeared to be thinking “now that I am opening the batting I absolutely, positively have to cover that ball outside off-stump by moving across and smothering it.’’

Sounds great in theory but the pay-off is that the more pronounced his off-side movement is the more he is a sitting duck for the ball coming back.

Don’t write it off that Smith will produce a century from nowhere in the second innings but the game is tough for him at the moment.

His returns are declining and the harder he tries — and he is training as hard as ever — the tougher things seem to be.

It’s a concern for Australia because they need Smith and Marnus Labuschange to be the link between generations of Australian cricket.

If these twin planks stumble in the next few years so will the team.

Originally published as Australia vs West Indies: Robert Craddock examines Steve Smith, Cameron Green and the batting order shuffle