Smith, second in the ICC Test batting rankings, moved up to number three for the series victory in the West Indies and remained there during the Ashes loss to England.
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Waugh, who played 168 Tests and is regarded as one of Australia’s great sporting leaders, said Smith had already proven himself to be a resilient character and as somebody with the hunger needed to succeed.
“I think breaking the more experienced players up a little bit in the order [is the right thing to do]”, Smith told the Daily Telegraph.
“(By dropping down to No. 4) … if there’s a run of wickets hopefully I can stop it. “It’s just the way I see it at the moment”, Smith was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“One of my philosophies is to make sure I am leading from the front so hopefully I can do that this summer and a summer with the bat like the last one would be nice”.
Smith justified his decision by stating that with the new players coming into the team, it was a wise move to have an experienced player at number four.
“The players will do that – we’ll just guide them along and prep them the best way we can”, Lehmann said.
His average of 80 at No. 4 came entirely as a result of his prolific home summer against India last season, but finding a productive No. 3 has been more of an issue for Australia since Ricky Ponting finished up in the position. While Smith has declared he would prefer to bat at No. 4 during the Test series, his predecessor suggested he ought to be at No.3.
Shane Watson’s struggles at first drop and Smith’s subsequent exploits at the World Cup formed an overwhelming argument.
“I think it would probably be more if it doesn’t work out for certain players (that I would change back)”.
National Selector Rod Marsh made it clear that two Tests is all Australia’s under-pressure batsmen have to show they’re worldwide standard players before tough calls are considered again. “I said, ‘If you want to bat three you can bat three, if you want four you can bat four.’ We discussed it, talked about the pros and cons. He had great success at three at this year’s Ashes mixed in with a few indifferent performances I suppose, and he has great success at four so it doesn’t matter so much – it’s more the (team) selection”. Trent Boult, I think he’s one of the best three bowlers in the world; Kane Williamson is one of the three or four best batters and a really good captain [in Brendon McCullum].
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“We’ve bowled very well to them”.
