Steve Smith has three matches to convince national selectors he deserves a spot in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, with this week’s white-ball series in New Zealand serving as his final audition ahead of the marquee tournament.
Australia only has three T20I matches scheduled before June’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States, the first of which gets underway at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on Wednesday evening.
Smith, who was not selected for the recent T20 series against the West Indies, may only get one or two opportunities to press his case against the Black Caps this week, otherwise he risks missing out on a plane ticket to the Caribbean. If he’s not selected for the T20 World Cup, there’s a genuine chance he could retire from the format altogether.
The New South Welshman, arguably Australia’s best Test batter since Sir Donald Bradman, was dropped from the national T20 side in 2022 following a lean period with the bat in the game’s shortest format. Mitchell Marsh had taken over his preferred No. 3 position, while T20 globetrotter Tim David successfully slotted into the middle order.
However, Smith bashed down the door for a recall during last summer’s Big Bash League campaign with the Sydney Sixers, blasting twin centuries against the Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder. It meant that when former Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch retired from T20 cricket, Smith was one of the leading candidates to replace him in the starting XI.
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Smith, who has only mustered one T20I half-century since November 2019, was expected to open the batting during last year’s white-ball tour of South Africa, but the right-hander was ruled out of the series after suffering an untimely wrist injury.
The 34-year-old finally got his opportunity following last year’s World Cup in India, facing the new ball in two T20s in Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram. However, in what proved a high-scoring series, Smith registered scores of 52 (41) and 19 (16).
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Smith’s T20I strike rate sits at 116.71, comfortably lower than any of his teammates in New Zealand. Although he has predominantly served at the team’s ‘Mr Fix It’ during that period, middle-order anchors are gradually becoming obsolete in the T20 format.
It’s partly why Smith went unsold in this summer’s Indian Premier League Auction.
T20I strike rate since July 2020
Travis Head – 175.37
Tim David – 169.05
Matt Short – 167.74
Josh Inglis – 155.03
Marcus Stoinis – 151.41
David Warner – 148.02
Glenn Maxwell – 145.50
Matthew Wade – 144.03
Mitchell Marsh – 138.68
Steve Smith – 116.71
Since the start of the triumphant 2021 T20 World Cup campaign in the United Arab Emirates, Australia has employed four strike bowlers in its starting XI, meaning all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis are crucial to the team balance.
To squeeze into Australia’s first-choice T20 side, Smith would need to be picked ahead of a specialist batter, either David Warner, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell or Tim David, which based on recent form seems incredibly unlikely.
Making matters worse for Smith, all four of the aforementioned cricketers will travel to India next month for the IPL, where they will get plenty of white-ball cricket under their belt ahead of the T20 World Cup. Smith doesn’t have that luxury. And with the likes of Big Bash stars Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk waiting on the sidelines, national selectors may look to start blooding the future generation of T20 superstars next summer, a common practice following World Cup cycles.
Having batted everywhere from opener to No. 9 in T20Is, Smith’s versatility and experience could work in his favour ahead of the marquee tournament.
Although he doesn’t boast the power some of his teammates possess, Smith’s precision and skill make him a valuable asset in any format. Just as Marnus Labuschagne rescued Australia with a patient knock during the World Cup final against India, Smith has the capacity to steer Australia safely towards a tricky target in spin-friendly conditions by picking the gaps and rotating the strike.
Regardless, the New Zealand tour could prove Smith’s last T20I venture if he doesn’t lock in a T20 World Cup ticket.
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Speaking to reporters in January, chief selector George Bailey revealed Australia would trial a “few different combinations” to open the batting in New Zealand, with Smith, Head, Short and Inglis among the candidates to partner David Warner at the top of the order.
“Head’s one that we’d like to have a look at,” Bailey explained.
“Having another look at (Smith) at the top would be useful as well.
“There’s a number of player who can slot into that role and do that effectively, so I think there will be a bit of shifting.”
The first T20 between New Zealand and Australia gets underway at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on Wednesday at 5pm AEDT.
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