Steve Smith on why his bubble has burst

Steve Smith does not rule out the mental fatigue from months in a bubble taking its toll, but won’t use it as an excuse

Steve Smith sweeps during his innings of eight at the MCG on Monday Picture: Michael Klein

A struggling Steve Smith does not dismiss the possibility that 150 days in a cricket bubble may be taking a toll.

The Australian who was crowned ICC Test player of the Year on Monday is in a form slump and has not seen his wife Dani since leaving for the UK in August.

Smith was in a tight quarantine in the UK for that tour, then again at the IPL and again on arrival back in Australia ahead of the white ball series in Sydney and Canberra. He stayed in the player’s bubble ahead of the Tests.

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Plans to reunite with his partner for Christmas were scuttled when Victoria responded with harsher quarantine restrictions to the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney where the couple live.

An ambassador for a men’s mental health campaign, Smith was asked if the time away from home and family was taking its toll.

“Maybe, it’s possible, I haven’t seen the wife for four and a half months I think it is, it’s a good (long) stint away,” he told SEN Test Cricket before the fourth day at the MCG.

“Those things can have an impact on people’s mental health and preparations and all things like that. I’m not making any excuses by any stretch of the imagination it’s certainly very different times at the moment but it is different, that’s for sure.”

Smith was decorated by the ICC for his extraordinary efforts in the past 10 years. His average of 63 over 75 Tests is slightly behind Adam Voges who played 20 Tests and Donald Bradman who is unrivalled.

Banned for a year for his role as captain in the sandpaper affair, Smith posted twin centuries at Edgbaston on return. After being concussed at Lord’s he bounced back with a double century at Old Trafford.

He averaged 110.57 in the away series, but had gone even better at home posting 137.4 in the 2017-18 Ashes before he lost the captaincy.

Things have dried up since 2019. Smith has not scored a hundred in the intervening period or put together an innings that has lasted 11 overs in the past 11 months.

It is worth noting he came into that last Ashes after a 12 month break from the game but comes into this series having been stuck inside a fish bowl that has restricted player freedom.

“At the moment I am searching for time in the middle, that’s the most important thing for me, I think, when I look at this year I haven’t spent more than 64 balls is the longest I’ve spent in the middle – during those one day games – for me that’s important. I find a lot of rhythm out in the middle,” he said.

“You can bat as much as you want in the nets but there’s nothing that can replicate what a game can do.

“That’s what I’m searching for at the moment and it can be tough to do in a Test match when you’ve got some quality bowlers.”

The Indians have arrived with good plans for Smith and the equally dangerous Marnus Labuschagne. Their quick bowlers have targeted the pair’s pads and stacked the leg side field which cuts out favoured scoring options and forces them to take risks if they want to play through the on side.

Former captain Ricky Ponting has been critical of the Australians scoring rates saying they are placing pressure back on themselves and Smith admits it has been an issue when he faces Ravi Ashwin.

“I probably haven’t played Ashwin as well as I’d like, I’d probably like to put him under a bit more pressure, I let him dictate terms and that’s probably something I’ve never let any spinner do in my career,” he said.

“I’ve taken it to them and been aggressive and made them change things. I haven’t allowed that to happen probably because I’m searching to be out there for long enough, so it’s a two-edged sword in a way. I think I’ve just got to have the confidence to take it on and play my game.”

Ponting has not been impressed with the Australians approach.

“You can‘t blame the pitch,” he said on Channel 7. “The pitch has been absolutely perfect today. It’s a little bit of spin, yes, but you’d expect that. Day three of a Test match. Very little on offer for the fast bowlers, but it’s just been poor batting. Very, very poor batting so far.

“Once again, this Indian attack have made it so hard for the Australians to score.

“It‘s been one of the reasons, I think, that they’ve eventually got themselves out, playing rash shots. They haven’t been able to tick the scoreboard over on a regular enough basis. Pressure builds. When pressure builds, bad shots come. I talked about it in first innings as well particularly with the way they played Ravi Ashwin. They weren’t proactive against him. Yes, it’s been good bowling, but sometimes against the best bowlers you have to take more risks as a batsman. For the sheer fact they’re not going to bowl bad balls.”