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Steve Smith To End His Stint As Test Opener Before Border Gavaskar Trophy; Chief Selector Confirms

Steve Smith [Source: @Test_Batsman/x.com]Steve Smith [Source: @Test_Batsman/x.com]

David Warner has been a faithful servant of Australian cricket for a long time. His presence did not let the Australian management think about the opening slot for more than a decade. Warner's retirement from international cricket created a much expected vaccum in Australian cricket. 

Steve Smith, who has been arguably the best batter for Australia in the last seven to eight years stepped up at this stage. He took up the job of the opener in Test cricket and played the role for four matches against West Indies and New Zealand. In these matches, Warner scored 171 runs at an average of 28.50.

Steve Smith has expressed his desire to go back down the order

However, as reported by Fox Cricket, in a recent interaction with the media, George Bailey the chief selector of Australian cricket team has confirmed that Steve Smith will not be seen as an opener during the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy. 

One of the major reasons for Smith deciding to go back into the middle-order might be the ruling out of Cameron Green from the series. Green's absence will create the need of a player who can add solidity and absorb the pressure in the middle-order, and there is no one more suitable than Steve Smith for the job. Also, Smith's return to the middle-order will create a place for a specialist opener at the top. 

Here is what George Bailey said about the situation - 

"Pat (Cummins), Andrew (McDonald) and Steve Smith have been having ongoing conversations, separate to the untimely injury to Cameron anyway. Steve had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position, and Pat and Andrew have confirmed that he will be dropping back down the order for the summer. Clearly we’ve got a number four spot to fill and an opening spot to fill."

Smith's batting order to be decided as per conditions by captain and coach

However, Bailey did not give any confirmation regarding the exact batting position of the Australian superstar. The Chief selector told the reporters that is upto the coach and captain of the team to decide where Smith bats and how he fits into the team composition.

"We’ve got another four weeks until that Test squad’s announced, and what exact order and who is in it and how they line up will be determined. As far as the (batting) order goes, you’ll have to direct that towards Pat and Andrew at the appropriate time.

The decision for Steve to go to the top of the order (last summer) was firmly with an eye to finding a way to get Cam Green back into the line-up and getting what we considered our best six batters into the same line-up.

Like anything, that can adjust depending on what’s available, your conditions, who you’re coming up against as well," - said Bailey.