For, on that November afternoon, Smith seemed to have found his hands, his legs, his feet and most importantly his head. He was batting so well that he was showering himself with plaudits. And though he hasn’t been that indulgent in Brisbane over the last three days, I’m going to say the big score he needs is coming in this third Test.
As a disclaimer, I have and continue to spend a lot of time in my life watching Steve Smith bat in the nets. All around the world, and at all odd hours of the day. So when I make a statement or mention an observation about his batting, it’s coming from an abundance of visually acquired material and not expertise.
But the fact is that back then, just over a month ago, he was talking up his own shots like he rarely does.
“That’s an unbelievable shot. Seamed in, on the up,” he yelled out once to Daniel Vettori after he’d wanged down a Mitchell Starc-like delivery from over the wicket.
“Brilliant cover drive on the up and he doesn’t have to say a word,” Smith shouted a few deliveries later. “That’s perfect for the camera,” was his next piece of commentary after a pinch-perfect straight drive that whizzed past the stumps at the other end.
When batting coach Michael Di Venuto managed to sneak a ball past his outside-edge and then followed it up with a juicy half-volley that was punished through the virtual cover region, Smith went.
“You know me too well, ‘Uncle’ (Di Venuto),” as if to say he wanted the feelgood shot right after being beaten. By the end of the session, Smith seemed to be feeling good too, about his batting, about his hands, about his feet.
“Yes Sirrrr,” were his final words as he walked off the Adelaide Oval.
He continued in the same positive vein as we got to Perth. There was a hit he had at the WACA a few days out from the first Test where he got Michael Hussey to dish out multiple length deliveries at him, which he then proceeded to try and blast through one particular section of the net.
“There we go, now we’re back,” you could overhear him tell himself after he finally executed the shot just the way he wanted to. More positive signs. More positive vibes that Smith was due. Smith was ready. Beware India.
There was a moment though at the Perth Stadium which was a great insight into the hyper-focused mind of Smith when he’s batting.
After having left a delivery that bounced over his stumps from Andrew McDonald, Smith inquired if he’d done something wrong having heard the head coach mutter something under his breath.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m just happy with my slinging,” said McDonald, to which Smith responded with, “Oh I thought you weren’t happy with my leave?”
He then proceeded to leave a bunch of deliveries off a similar, Jasprit Bumrah-eque length for the next 15 minutes and, by the end of it, Smith himself sounded very happy with himself. This was two days out from the opening Test and probably the best sign that this could be the summer of Smith.
But then, as they say in pro-wrestling, the bell rang. Smith was out of the first ball he faced in the series, his head falling over, and Bumrah trapping him in front. Probably not much to read there.
He looked in the kind of rhythm I’d expected him to be in the second innings in Perth before being nicked off by a brilliant delivery from Mohammad Siraj, just when he seemed to be coming into his own. That is before we returned to the Adelaide Oval, and Smith was strangled down the leg-side.
His series tally to date: 19 runs in three innings at an average of 6.33. Not quite what his form with regards to the zone he seemed to be in with his batting had suggested.
All of a sudden, we haven’t witnessed the same self-love for his batting. In Adelaide before the pink-ball Test, he was getting bothered by the camera lights from outside the net, annoyed with how it was impacting his vision. There was a rogue camera light that got under his skin while he batted in the indoor nets at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane as well. But that didn’t last for too long.
What was evident though was how he’d brought back an old quirk of his batting, where he uses a trigger where his back leg goes back towards off-stump and the front leg opens up in a bit more exaggerated fashion than what we’ve seen this summer, meaning that he’s a lot more front-on while facing the bowler.
It’s a tactic that’s worked for him before and it should enable him to hit a lot more freely through the on-side, something that he’s struggled with a bit in this series. But then that’ll mean his hands cannot betray him and poke at deliveries outside his off-stump that could otherwise be left alone.
There was one terrific delivery from Pat Cummins in the Gabba nets two days out from the third Test that had him in trouble, and he looked to have got an outside edge to.
At his peak, Smith could and would whip deliveries from off-stump through square-leg, without the fear of missing it and being hit on the pads.
There was a surety about it. There was an inevitability about it. That it’s not a given anymore is probably one of the reasons he’s no longer the incredibly consistent run-getter he was at his peak.
Maybe the return of the dramatic trigger, which you’re likely to see in this Test, is what brings it all back. And he ends up getting a big score in the series.
For mine, he’s been due for a big score, and has looked good for a big score, and I’m going to stick my neck out and say he’s going to get a big score in Brisbane.
More Coverage
Will Pucovski had all the time in the world … until he didn’t
In a game of “what ifs”, Will Pucovski could not only have been one of the game’s great batters but also captains.
Cricket prodigy’s next move revealed after tragic retirement
Following the sad early retirement of Australian cricket star Will Pucovski, the prodigious talent is set to make an immediate switch this summer.
Steve Smith is due for a big score. I’m not saying this purely because he needs a big score. But more so because he’s looked good for a big score. Not just in the lead-up to the Test series but right from the time he started prepping for it while having a net at the Adelaide Oval before the ODI against Pakistan.