Steve Smith.

[Donny]

Smith's constant fidgeting (others, too - Chappelli, Chanderpaul etc.) is simply his focussing 'method'.

Same for Warner's releasing and re-securing his batting gloves velcro, after EVERY ball.

[Pies4shaw]

One of 4 Australian players selected in Jon Pierik’s Test Team of the Year, published in The Age today. The other 3 were Marnus, Cummins and Lyon.

[luvdids]

What??? No Warner??

Sadly Punter included him in his team of the decade -

RICKY PONTING’S TEST TEAM OF THE DECADE
David Warner— AUS (7099 runs @ 48.21)
Alastair Cook— ENG (8818 runs @ 46.41)
Kane Williamson— NZL (6379 runs @ 51.44)
Steve Smith— AUS (7164 runs @ 62.84)
Virat Kohli(c) — IND (7202 runs @ 54.97)
Kumar Sangakkara(wk) — SL (4851 runs @ 61.40)
Ben Stokes— ENG (3787 runs @ 35.72, 139 wickets @ 33.13)
Dale Steyn— RSA (267 wickets @ 22.29)
Nathan Lyon— AUS (380 wickets @ 32.11)
Stuart Broad— ENG (403 wickets @ 27.65)
James Anderson— ENG (429 wickets @ 24.35)

https://apple.news/AtFGS3OtqQIWGjqRGN9wEog

In fact, pretty much everyone has, Wisden, Fox cricket, all of them. I might be in the minority, with Jon Pierik.

[Pies4shaw]

Pierik would probably have him in his team of the decade, too, luvdids - you might be a party of one, there.

[K]

"... the ODI team has lost seven of their last eight ODIs dating back to the 2019 50-over World Cup where they lost the semi-final to England. Coach Justin Langer has conceded T20 has been the priority but there are some broader questions to answer for both white-ball squads moving forward."

(cricinfo)

It's sustained incompetence. Pretending FTB Smith is a good ODI player (he's mediocre at best) is a symptom of the incompetence.

[Pies4shaw]

Bradsmith has a one-day international average of 42.76 and a strike rate of 86.68. Ponting had a one-day international average of 41.81 and a strike rate of 80.19.

[K]

They cannot be compared because they are from different eras.

This is the FTB era. Not only are the pitches flatter, the boundary ropes brought in, the bats much, much, much more powerful, but there have been very obvious rule changes that you must surely not have forgotten.


We all know that in the 80s, for example, 220 used to be a very competitive ODI total.

Now often when they score 320 in the first innings, you just know it's going to get mown down with ease.


Compare FTB Smith to someone in the same era and position...


...........................................


Joseph Edward Root

137 ODI inns, 5933 runs, ave. 51.05, SR 87.40, 16 100s.

Steven Peter Devereux Smith

109 ODI inns, 4148 runs, ave. 42.76, SR 86.68, 9 100s.


Joe Root is clearly far, far, far superior to FTB Smith in the number 3 ODI spot. Yet, there are constant headlines and opinions questioning his short-form value, so it's delusional to believe that FTB Smith is any more than passable.

e.g.

Joe Root hungry to prove his worth to one-day plans after being dropped from final T20

(Independent, 11 July 2018)

Joe Root Should Bat Lower On England’s Cricket World Cup Team

(Forbes, July 2 2019)

"Root is England’s best batsman in test cricket. But is he in the one-day format? 50 overs cricket is a different animal, even if it is not as different as the slogfest that is T20.
...

It seems churlish to question the Yorkshireman’s role, given that he is a top quality player who has scored 476 runs, including two centuries, at an average of 68 in this World Cup.

But. But. ..."

[Pies4shaw]

There is no merit at all in comparing players from different countries, where matches are played predominantly in different home conditions and against particular opposition, by reference to their averages. If you look at Smith in the context of Australia’s overall record, you will find that, Bevan (whose average was inflated because he batted relatively low in the order and had many not outs) aside, no-one has a record much better than Smith’s. Amongst the current players, Warner and Finch - both of whom would be thought around the World to be “match-winners” - have a slightly higher and a slightly lower average, respectively. Warner’s strike rate is much better than Smith’s but Finch’s is about the same.

Really, almost everyone except you (and Kane Williamson’s other relatives) accepts - without reservation - that Smith is the best player in the World. He is not a “flat track bully”. He is quite simply one of the best batsmen ever to play the game.

[K]

The claim in your last paragraph is utterly false. Outside of Oz and perhaps UK, it is not at all accepted. Nor should it be, since there is overwhelming evidence Smith is an FTB.


Your blindness to the change in the ODI conditions over time scares me. It shows how desperate your psyche is to maintain the Myth of Smith.

220 was a winning ODI score in the 80s. Oz in recent years has struggled to defend 350 or even 400.


Instead you speculate about the region. Nowadays there are frequent ODI tours of all cricketing countries to every other one, sadly to the detriment of Test cricket. They played a WC in England last year, and FTB Smith and Khawaja just got in each other's way, because they are so limited they can only play one way. Smith's WC was an utter failure, filled with unusual LBWs and bowled dismissals.

[K]

Look at that red line rocketing upwards. And that pic was made in 2017 (by blogger ckrao); it's probably increased even faster in the last two years.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Aussies men have struggled with the ODI format since the t20 came into vouge. Its been sort of pushed aside the 50 over game since then.
There will always be test but the 50 over game is deteriorating and may end up as an extinct format of the game. Not sure in the womens though that has a much more brighter future.

[K]

[Pies4shaw]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-29/steve-smith-leadership-ban-ends-quietly-amid-coronavirus-limbo/12100832