Australia's new captain

[GotSpin]

Strange to think i Was friends With the current australian captain.

 

[Spark]

Steve Smith doesn't have a very classical technique, does he? Haven't seen him enough to be sure, but he does play a lot of unorthodox strokes.

He seems the kind of batsman who needs a clear mind so he can play at his best. He has captaincy experience before so I suppose he can handle it; but it will be interesting to see how his cricket and his batting will go under the strains of captaincy over time. Even more technically correct and dour batsmen lose their way when the burden gets heavy. Will Smith's free, attacking style help him handle the pressure better, or see him struggle further?

Also I want to see if he bowls himself and how often.

I'm increasingly coming around to the view that Smith's technical foibles are vastly overplayed. Some of that is covering up due to form but he's definitely found a really successful and surprisingly well-worn method for dealing with his major "weakness" which was the moving ball outside off stump.

It's pretty simple: he's very strong off his pads, so he exploits that by getting right across and covering the stumps and simply leaving the ball. Did it to great effect in England last year and at times look completely at ease when Anderson and Broad were hooping around to all parts, particularly at TB and The Oval. If he got beaten, he played so straight and compact that he didn't nick it, and half the time it hit him on the body anyway so it wouldn't have mattered.

So yeah, reckon we should rethink this "Steve Smith doesn't have a good technique" meme. And hell, even MS Dhoni found a way.

 

[Adders]

Given the usual captaincy-caused batting slump, I can't see this being good tbh . Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but it's a point to be concerned about.

Huh? That seems to me to be very much an English problem.........Australian captains traditionally seem to power on with the bat once they become captain.

That in itself would make a decent discussion, as I've no idea why this should be........

 

[jan]

Oh and his kindness to small furry animals

The perk of a true Australian champion?

Did you watch his captaincy in the domestic cricket?.

I dont follow AUS domestic. Hence the initial question...

 

[Spark]

Huh? That seems to me to be very much an English problem.........Australian captains traditionally seem to power on with the bat once they become captain.

That in itself would make a decent discussion, as I've no idea why this should be........

Strauss's peak coincided with the first half of his captaincy pretty well tbf

 

[andmark]

Huh? That seems to me to be very much an English problem.........Australian captains traditionally seem to power on with the bat once they become captain.

That in itself would make a decent discussion, as I've no idea why this should be........

Yeah, that's a point. I'm just used to Captaincy bringing a batting average down horrendously for the English skippers.

 

[GIMH]

Strauss's peak coincided with the first half of his captaincy pretty well tbf

First half a bit generous tbh. He was class as stand in captain in 06 and then in Ashes 09. After that, he did enough with the bat to deserve his place but was definitely past his best. It wasn't his runs we missed when he stepped down.

 

[Furball]

I'm increasingly coming around to the view that Smith's technical foibles are vastly overplayed. Some of that is covering up due to form but he's definitely found a really successful and surprisingly well-worn method for dealing with his major "weakness" which was the moving ball outside off stump.

It's pretty simple: he's very strong off his pads, so he exploits that by getting right across and covering the stumps and simply leaving the ball. Did it to great effect in England last year and at times look completely at ease when Anderson and Broad were hooping around to all parts, particularly at TB and The Oval. If he got beaten, he played so straight and compact that he didn't nick it, and half the time it hit him on the body anyway so it wouldn't have mattered.

So yeah, reckon we should rethink this "Steve Smith doesn't have a good technique" meme. And hell, even MS Dhoni found a way.

People confuse "good technique" with "looks orthodox" all the time.

Technique is a means to an end. Nobody who makes it to First Class, never mind Test level, has a bad technique ffs.

 

[Red]

People confuse "good technique" with "looks orthodox" all the time.

Technique is a means to an end. Nobody who makes it to First Class, never mind Test level, has a bad technique ffs.

This is a really good point. Plenty of successful batsmen haven't looked like Sachin or Greg Chappell.

 

[howardj]

A very bold and refreshing move from the selectors

Well played, panel

 

[adub]

Yeah his technique is fine. The way he plays the pull looks awkward, but the way it races to the fence is anything but. Technique is just the means to an end. Bradman's technique was pretty unorthodox.

But what was about Bradman’s technique that set him apart, by some considerable distance, from the rest of the sports batting elite?

Shillinglaw believed:

“the way Bradman held his bat, lifted it and prepared for each stroke. Shillinglaw believes this gave Bradman an important advantage in terms of balance and ensured he was always ideally positioned to play his shot. In other words, it was what Bradman did before a shot that set him apart, not the stroke itself.”

Smith does what works for him, that's the best technique you can have.

 

[howardj]

To borrow Rob Oakshot's line, Steve's technique is beautiful in its ugliness

 

[wiff]

Oh and his resemblance to small furry animals

fixed it for you

 

[howardj]

Will Smith take over from George in ODIs?

George has been doing a good job, and they would be reluctant to change so near to the WC

But surely it makes sense to have one captain across both formats if, as Smith does, the captain is an automatic choice in both forms

 

[Burgey]

Strange to think i Was friends With the current australian captain.

Did he brush you? See, impeccable judgment and nous

 

[Red]

Will Smith take over from George in ODIs?

George has been doing a good job, and they would be reluctant to change so near to the WC

But surely it makes sense to have one captain across both formats if, as Smith does, the captain is an automatic choice in both forms

 

[GotSpin]

Did he brush you? See, impeccable judgment and nous

Moved onto better and greater things it seems.

Wasnt a close mate, but he was a mate of all my mates so i saw him alot for a while.

 

[Nate]

Steve Smith doesn't have a very classical technique, does he? Haven't seen him enough to be sure, but he does play a lot of unorthodox strokes.

He seems the kind of batsman who needs a clear mind so he can play at his best. He has captaincy experience before so I suppose he can handle it; but it will be interesting to see how his cricket and his batting will go under the strains of captaincy over time. Even more technically correct and dour batsmen lose their way when the burden gets heavy. Will Smith's free, attacking style help him handle the pressure better, or see him struggle further?

Also I want to see if he bowls himself and how often.

 

[Burgey]

Indoctrination achievement: unlocked.

 

[Nate]

it is the only way they'll learn