Raising the game: Time for Steve Smith to reinvent his T20 batting
Steve Smith is a classy batsman. There is no doubt about that. He is also the best Test batsman of this era. He has an average of 62.8 in the longest format and is far ahead of his competition. However, despite being so good in Tests, and doing decently well in ODIs, Smith hasn’t been able to dominate one format thus far, that is T20. Be it international T20 or the IPL, Smith has struggled to have any breakout season or even perform consistently in the format. Let us discuss his struggles in the shortest format of the game.
Let’s look at the numbers first. In 34 innings in T20Is, Smith has managed to score 712 runs at an average of 27.4 and SR of 131.1, having scored 4 half-centuries. In the IPL, he has scored 2333 runs in 86 innings, at an average of 35.3 and SR of 129.3. These numbers aren’t extremely poor but don’t do justice to the reputation of a player who is regarded as one of the best in the World.
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The difference between the ‘Fab Four’ is glaring. Virat Kohli is way ahead, being the top run-getter in the IPL. He has scored more than 6000 at an average of close to 34 in 187 innings and a strike-rate of above 130 which is decent. Kane Williamson, featuring for SRH, has played only 50 innings amassing 1502 runs and his strike-rate of 135.1 is the best among three. Smith’s average of 27.12 after batting in 86 innings is certainly not the best while his strike-rate is also questionable.
Diving Deeper
Let us take a deeper dive into Smith’s numbers to understand his struggles. His main nemesis has been the middle overs of a T20 game, where he slows down considerably. From 6-15 overs in T20I, his Strike Rate is just 120.8 and in the IPL, it comes down to 117.8. He fails to accelerate and that has been his biggest flaw.
Let us speak keeping the numbers aside now. Steve Smith has a very unorthodox technique. That technique has helped him in Test cricket. He walks across the off stump and is in an excellent position to judge whether he should drive or leave the ball outside the off-stump. Walking across is risky but he has mastered that skill and it also makes it easier for him to easily flick straight balls through midwicket as well.
His consistent shuffling leaves bowlers exasperated and hence it is very difficult to dismiss him in Tests. In T20, it is not the bowlers, but the batsmen who have to make that extra effort. Bowlers don’t necessarily need to try and dismiss him. If he scores just 6-7 runs of their over, it is considered a win for them. And that is where Smith’s biggest struggle lies.
Neither is Smith extremely proficient at running between the wickets. Hence, he doesn’t possess any kind of edge for him to succeed in T20. In this IPL, we saw Smith trying to take the ultra-aggressive approach and hit from ball one. But that approach didn’t work at all, as he ended up with 6 single-digit scores.
A lot of players aren’t adept at all 3 formats equally. Some prefer certain formats over the other. Smith’s go-to format is Tests. Now he needs to identify his struggles in T20 and try to work around that to maximise the potential of a very talented cricket.
