The Steven Smith Question

[Coronis]

Jeez isn't literally everyone somewhere on the spectrum nowadays?

 

[Burgey]

He averaged 56 in England in 2015. I suppose for him that is mediocre these days.

 

[Gob]

He averaged 56 in England in 2015. I suppose for him that is mediocre these days.

Missed out on the two venues where the ball moved the most i suppose thats where the whole can't play the moving ball thing stems. Obviously way too sample size to do any thing especially considering that he only genuinely fell for the moving ball twice but the only crack in his otherwise perfect record so got to clutch on to that

 

[fredfertang]

He averaged 56 in England in 2015. I suppose for him that is mediocre these days.

Same as Bradman against Bodyline

 

[Burgey]

Haha yeah was thinking the same

 

[Slifer]

For goodness sake Smith made runs in India on turning wickets vs an excellent spin attack AND he's made runs in RSA VS Steyn and Co. Good enough for me to declare him the best around and if his career ended right now he'd be an atg easily. Lol at people saying he only makes runs on ozzie roads that's bs.

 

[fredfertang]

Haha yeah was thinking the same

letting myself get played by Burgey - still that's doubtless happened to better men than me

 

[Gob]

For goodness sake Smith made runs in India on turning wickets vs an excellent spin attack AND he's made runs in RSA VS Steyn and Co. Good enough for me to declare him the best around and if his career ended right now he'd be an atg easily. Lol at people saying he only makes runs on ozzie roads that's bs.

Well his away average is almost 20 runs less than him home average. Too bad that his home average is 74 though

 

[Burgey]

What’s his away average since 2014 I wonder.

 

[Chrish]

His ability to make runs in varied conditions can’t be questioned. What I am interested to know is how long he will be able to maintain high standard (not necessarily his current form).

From memory Ponting had even better peak than Smith.

 

[Gob]

What’s his away average since 2014 I wonder.

Wonder no more.

62

 

[Burgey]

Cheers.

Got a bit to prove then..

Fmd that’s better than Border’s away average. Smaller sample size obvs

 

[Coronis]

His ability to make runs in varied conditions can’t be questioned. What I am interested to know is how long he will be able to maintain high standard (not necessarily his current form).

From memory Ponting had even better peak than Smith.

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

5 year peaks. Somehow I think Smith's 2018 will be better than his 2013 though.

 

[Gnske]

Two conflicting opinions I've heard expressed this week:


1. His success is ruining cricket because he has a horrible style and he's just compiling masses of runs on dead tracks in a near-dead era of the sport.


2. He's an inspiration. A guy with a homegrown technique who climbed from a number 8 batsman and part-time leggie, to by far the best batsman on the planet, and maybe an all time great.


... I'm not advocating either of these with this opening post. I'm just interested in how people see it.

Either of these or somewhere in the middle??

Englishman accusing Steve Smith of ruining cricket.

Amazing.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Two conflicting opinions I've heard expressed this week:


1. His success is ruining cricket because he has a horrible style and he's just compiling masses of runs on dead tracks in a near-dead era of the sport.


2. He's an inspiration. A guy with a homegrown technique who climbed from a number 8 batsman and part-time leggie, to by far the best batsman on the planet, and maybe an all time great.


... I'm not advocating either of these with this opening post. I'm just interested in how people see it.

Either of these or somewhere in the middle??

Not sure how anyone can come to this conclusion tbh. He scores more than anyone else on green tracks and rank turners as well as roads.

I'm just waiting for the time that he loses his eye and his form falls off a cliff and starts averaging 30 though

 

[stephen]

Smith is already an ATG.

He's the new AB. Taking a crap team with only one other decent bat (Boony in AB's case, Warner in Smith's case) and carrying it on his shoulders while making mountains of runs.

Except that Smith is averaging twelve runs more than AB while doing it.

It's incredible to watch and inspiring. Makes me really wish I could get out there and play again.

 

[Slifer]

Smith is already an ATG.

He's the new AB. Taking a crap team with only one other decent bat (Boony in AB's case, Warner in Smith's case) and carrying it on his shoulders while making mountains of runs.

Except that Smith is averaging twelve runs more than AB while doing it.

It's incredible to watch and inspiring. Makes me really wish I could get out there and play again.

Awta. Well said

 

[GotSpin]

When great players come along people always say they score runs in easy conditions, against bad bowlers etc. Smith, like the rest, scores them pretty much everywhere.

They’ll sort him out in India, England, SA, wherever. They’ll sort him out whe it bounces/ spins/ swings etc. Doesn’t happen.

The bloke is a machine. And part of his genius is he actually DGAF what he looks like or how he gets them. He just gets it done. If it takes 300 balls he does it; if he can get them in 140 balls he does it.

He’ll nick off or go cheaply occasionally, but if you watch him after a couple of digs where he hasn’t scored (seen it in odi series, for example) you can physically see him just doing whatever it takes to make runs next time around, even to the point where he reduces the excessive pre-delivery moment to make sure his head is still.

Like most people on here, I’ve watched a lot of Cricket, going back to the 70s in my case, and dead set I’ve never seen another player like him. Not because he fidgets (Randall and others have done that), not because he walks across (Boonie, Kat), not because he has the backlift to gully (Walters) or because he’s determined (all the great players). I think it’s because you can *see* the determination manifest itself in him, sometimes even within a single over.

Without sounding disparaging, I reckon if he isn’t on the spectrum, he can surely wave to it from where he’s standing, and he just channels himself into making runs. Nothing else matters to him at all. It’s actuallly ****ing scary.

He was always incredibly focused. When he was 17 he was offered a county contract while still at school and just went for it

 

[Victor Ian]

What Burgey and Fred said.

I think it is fascinating to watch someone with their own technique dominate like he is. Too often, when I am watching, I cringe at the shot he is making then silently wtf myself as he pulls it off. I love it - someone backing himself, rather than a textbook. If Cricket was all about playing shots like M Waugh or Gower then we would have a panel of judges holding up cards from 1-10, like ice skating, instead of counting runs.

My favourite shots of his are the two handed forehand and the fly-swat.

 

[TNT]

Amazing player and person, he just keeps proving people wrong so the nitpicking keeps getting stupider (batting on roads, no good against swing, moving ball).

All batsmen are judged on what they actually did/do, not what they might have, could have ,should have done