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When George Bailey announced that Steven Smith would no longer be starting at number one in Australia’s Test team, he did so with extreme caution.
Australia’s committee of selectors said on Monday that Smith “had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position” and later revealed that coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins had confirmed Smith’s decision. Bailey was very clear in saying that even as chair, he had no say in the order.
Many people feel that Smith’s experimentation with opening in Test cricket should never have taken place, and his decision has been heavily condemned.
The subject of who would have opened instead of Smith is interesting, but it is no longer relevant. That is not what’s interesting. What would have happened to Smith if the selectors had denied his request to open the batting is what makes this story so interesting.
Here’s where Bailey’s advice is helpful. Somewhat forgotten is the fact that Smith spearheaded the shift. He asked to bat first, opening the batting. He made it a public agenda item. In the days immediately following Smith’s flagging of interest, the captain and coach both stated that they would prefer that Smith remain in No. 4. It was only after he made it clear that he was serious about taking on the job that the team administration decided it was worthwhile to move Cameron Green to the No. 4 spot without making someone else open against their will.
Many would argue that the decision-makers disregarded their duty at that precise moment and that they ought to have informed Smith that the plan was unfeasible and would not be considered.
It’s not unfair to criticise. Captains, coaches, and selectors have to have difficult conversations and make difficult judgements. However, every choice has an opportunity cost and repercussions.
Smith was making hints that the routine of batting at No. 4 was starting to get to him. In that job, he has overcome every obstacle. Even if they had been slipping from an absurdly high peak, his profits had been declining. Before going to the top of the order, he had averaged 42.22 in the 2023 calendar year and merely 38.80, with his highest score coming against Pakistan in six innings at 50.
To hear one of Australia’s greatest Test bats ever ask for a new challenge and then firmly turn it down when it may potentially resolve a selection dilemma would require a courageous and unyielding leader.
There’s no assurance he would have performed any differently than opening the batting if he had stayed at No. 4 in the Test side against the West Indies and New Zealand. Considering that he opened the chase with an incredible 91 not out, would Australia have prevailed in Brisbane if he had been batting at No. 4? Would he have scored 174 not out at the Basin Reserve, like Green did, to win the match? Is it possible that he averaged over 28.50? There will never be a response to those queries. There are also unanswerable questions around Smith remaining at No. 4, such as what would have happened to Green and how a different opener might have played out.
Nevertheless, was the decision really as bad as everyone seems to think it was?
In the two Test series, Smith’s average at the top of the order (28.50) over eight innings was not as dismal as it seems. There were only three half-centuries scored by all the openers who played, and his 91 not out was the best score of any starter in the four Tests. In the same four games, Usman Khawaja averaged 32.42 points. Tom Latham scored two single figures in Wellington but averaged 31 in the two Tests played in New Zealand. Kraigg Brathwaite, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, and Will Young all had single-digit averages.
David Warner finished his career with an average of 30.12, whereas Smith’s returns were comparable to the career averages of the three leading candidates for the position—Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, and Matt Renshaw.
Even if Green’s injury made the transfer easier, Smith’s decision to open and then ask to move back will have unexpected implications that go beyond the numbers.
Another twist would come from a surprise like Sam Konstas. That would provide a tidy, straightforward conclusion to a somewhat chaotic eleven months and herald a new beginning, but another discussion may arise based on when Green becomes available for Test cricket once more.
Smith’s tenure as a Test opener was an interesting chapter in his career, albeit it will likely end up as a footnote.