3 times an express pacer troubled Steve Smith
Australian star Steve Smith has caused several nightmares to opposition bowlers and captains in red-ball cricket over the years. His fidgety movements, awkward stance, and unique ability to access different areas of the field have made him arguably the toughest batter to dislodge in Test cricket.
Boasting an incredible 9,178 runs at an average of 58.83, Smith, with 32 centuries to his name, is in rarified air among the all-time greats of Test batting. Despite his inimitable appetite for runs and impeccable numbers, though, he has been found wanting against express pace at different times in his illustrious career.
On Day 1 of the fourth Ashes Test, the 34-year-old was troubled by Mark Wood, who was bowling at an extreme pace. This resulted in Smith moving well outside the off-stump to overcome the pacy short deliveries. Ultimately, the movement led to his downfall as Wood bowled a fuller delivery at pace to trap the champion batter plumb in front.
The on-air commentators then pointed out some astonishing numbers that indicated Smith's struggles against pacy deliveries above 90 MPH. While express fast bowling is threatening for even world-class batters, the fact remains that it may be the only chink in the armor for Steve Smith.
This is a good statistic provided by Atherton on Smith. He was right in saying this would be the pattern for most batsmen.
Mark Taylor wanted his average to be doubled for the type of quicks he had faced from the West Indies!
#Ashes pic.twitter.com/mfbTiuTjF5
Of course, the entire cricketing universe remembers the famous Jofra Archer spell at Lord's in the 2019 Ashes that had Steve Smith on the ropes before eventually flooring him. It led to the batter having to retire hurt and be concussion substituted in the second innings.
Despite Archer's theatrics, Smith had no trouble dealing with the Englishman upon his return in the fourth Test. The talismanic batter scored a magnificent double-century to propel Australia to a massive win. He has also faced 164 deliveries from Archer, scoring close to 100 runs without being dismissed even once.
However, there have been instances where Smith has looked troubled against express pacers and been dismissed by them as well. While they may be few and far between, that could be the best way to disrupt his rhythm and dislodge the former Australian skipper.
Let us look at three times express pace bowlers have troubled Steve Smith in his unimpeachable career.
#1 Neil Wagner - New Zealand tour of Australia, 2019/20
Neil Wagner is possibly the only fast bowler to have consistently troubled and dismissed Smith throughout a Test series. The fiery left-arm pacer used the around-the-wicket short-pitched bowling ploy to crack the Steve Smith code during New Zealand's tour Down Under in 2019/20.
The former Australian skipper was seemingly invincible coming off an incredible Ashes in England a few months ago. However, Wagner, notorious for bowling short on the body, dismissed Smith with bouncers in the first four innings of the series.
There were lingering talks about a carry-over effect from the Jofra Archer bouncer barrage in the Lord's Test of the 2019 Ashes. Further evidence of that was Smith's average against the short delivery, which plummeted from 94.4 to 29.4 since the Archer spell.
Wagner sent down 116 deliveries to Smith in the first two games of the series, with the batter scoring only 22 runs and being dismissed four times. An average of 5.5 and a strike rate of below 20 against Wagner spoke volumes about the troubling effect of the left-arm pacer on one of Australia's most accomplished batters.
#2 Morne Morkel - Cape Town, 2018
The 2018 Cape Town Test between South Africa and Australia will remain in cricket infamy for years and decades. However, with all the drama regarding the sandpaper incident and following suspensions of Steve Smith and David Warner, the game in and of itself is often forgotten.
Steve Smith entered the series as undeniably the best Test batter in the world, averaging over 70 each year from 2014 to 2017. The highly anticipated series between the cricketing rivals was nodded at one game apiece heading into Newlands, Capetown.
Despite a relatively quiet series until then, Smith was expected to score big in the crunch game. However, tall Protea bowler Morne Morkel had other ideas as he dismissed the gun batter in both innings of the game.
The right-hander was caught at gully in the first innings off a steep bouncy delivery for just five runs, and he was dismissed identically by Morkel again in the second innings for only seven runs.
The lanky pacer had Smith tied to a string in the series, with the star batter scoring just 22 runs off 47 deliveries against Morkel at a paltry average of 11.
Morkel has been among the few bowlers to have been able to put a lid on the former Aussie skipper across formats, with the batter averaging less than 30 while being dismissed five times in his career.
#3 Anrich Nortje - South Africa tour of Australia, 2022/23
Andrich Nortje is arguably the quickest bowler in world cricket today, with the ability to consistently clock speeds in the high 90 MPH region.
In the first Test of the three-match series between South Africa and Australia in 2022, the Protea pacer produced one of the sights to behold in recent memory. Nortje bowled a delivery that jagged back in a long way from outside off to clean Smith up, with the ball hitting the top of the middle stump.
The speedster removed the champion batter again in the second Test. Smith was 15 runs short of his century when he faced a fast-paced delivery that cramped him for room. He was forced to steer the delivery straight to gully to be dismissed by Nortje for the second time in three innings.
The Australian star averaged just 15 in the series against Nortje. Smith has also been dismissed by the South African pacer three other times in white-ball cricket.