The Battlers Prince
International Vice-Captain
I’m not a massive Smith fan, he wasn’t that impressive against quality on a regular basis.
Do we have a link to his outstanding innings?
Do we have a link to his outstanding innings?
This has a case of being the greatest innings of the 21st Century. It also shows a big reason as to why Smith was so great.I’m not a massive Smith fan, he wasn’t that impressive against quality on a regular basis.
Do we have a link to his outstanding innings?
He had a couple of good matches in AUS around 2008/2012.Yeah he toured well in England. Doesn’t have much of a record against Australia, India or Sri Lanka. Definitely up there and can see he’s done well, especially fourth innings digs at times though
Yes, he did very well in those 2-3 series, especially 2008. You have to take the captaincy into account as well. I guess he must have had some very poor ones as well to bring that average down to the early 30s.Smith's average against Australia isn't great but he had some wonderful performances against them in key matches. He was awesome in the 2008 series win in Australia where he won MotS (scored a hundred to set up the 400+ runchase at perth, two fiftis at melbourne to seal the series, and batted with a broken hand to try and save the third test), also scored a hundred in the 4th innings to win that crazy 47 allout test in 2011, and a brilliant counterattacking 80 odd in Perth in 2012 which got completely overshadowed by Amla's great knock, but Smith was the one who started that blitz and by the time he was out SA were pretty much in an unbeatable position.
Average schmaverage, Smith's record against Australia is fine, all things considered.
This average vs a certain country thing gets skewed a lot for players who play their first/last series against that particular team I've noticed. Smith got owned by Johnson in his final series which brought that average down a lot. Not that those series shouldnt count of course but it can be misleading.Yes, he did very well in those 2-3 series, especially 2008. You have to take the captaincy into account as well. I guess he must have had some very poor ones as well to bring that average down to the early 30s.
Smith just struggled against left arm pacers in general tbh. Was basically a free wicket for Zaheer very time.Johnson was a killer in SA with the pace, bounce and movement available.
As well..... but I liked Zaheer. Not a fan of Johnson.. (showing bias). -Smith just struggled against left arm pacers in general tbh. Was basically a free wicket for Zaheer very time.
literally couldn't play that in-swinger if his life depended on it.. and would end up in hilariously awkward positions to boot. Still the best opener of the 4 being mentioned imo.Smith just struggled against left arm pacers in general tbh. Was basically a free wicket for Zaheer very time.
I think he was, significantly better against pace. If given a choice as an opener anywhere in the world bar India and SL, i'd choose Langer over Hayden.So you don't like Hayden basically. Because Langer was not a better batsman than Hayden.
Yeah who you pair with him depends on conditions really. Probably just Sehwag in Asia and Smith everywhere else.Hayden's average shoots up to 53 when you only include the 21st century
It's just a question of you pair with him
Similarly Hayden's average against South Africa is deceptive. In his last tour there he set up the series for Australia with his batting. Scored a key 90 and then a key 50 in our wins in low scoring games. His average doesn't reflect how important his batting was in Australian series victories.Smith's average against Australia isn't great but he had some wonderful performances against them in key matches. He was awesome in the 2008 series win in Australia where he won MotS (scored a hundred to set up the 400+ runchase at perth, two fiftis at melbourne to seal the series, and batted with a broken hand to try and save the third test), also scored a hundred in the 4th innings to win that crazy 47 allout test in 2011, and a brilliant counterattacking 80 odd in Perth in 2012 which got completely overshadowed by Amla's great knock, but Smith was the one who started that blitz and by the time he was out SA were pretty much in an unbeatable position.
Average schmaverage, Smith's record against Australia is fine, all things considered.