"He thought he was best suited at four" - Pat Cummins opens up on moving Steven Smith to his original batting spot in Tests
Australian captain Pat Cummins has lifted the lid on the decision to move Steven Smith back to No. 4 in the Test batting line-up. The 31-year-old revealed that Smith was convinced about returning to No. 4 after not finding much success as an opener.
The 35-year-old had moved to open the innings after David Warner's retirement, beginning his stint against the West Indies. However, Smith has only one half-century as an opener alongside an average of 28.50 in eight innings.
Speaking to 9news, Cummins remarked that Smith's return to No. 4 makes sense due to Cameron Green's back injury requiring surgery.
"Yeah we had a chat ... we probably still hadn't made our mind up and we knew there was a bit of water to go under the bridge. Also with Cam's injury and a few rounds of Shield games … we chatted about it and I think it makes sense now. He was really excited by the challenge of opening last year and he's really glad he did it, but I think after giving it a go, he thought he was best suited at four," he said.
Green had cemented his spot at No. 4 and looked set to continue in the five-Test series against India. The all-rounder had slammed a match-winning 174 against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington earlier this year.
Pat Cummins opens up on Sam Konstas' rise as an opener
With 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas scoring twin centuries in the most recent Sheffield Shield fixture for New South Wales, Cummins has suggested that he is yet to be tested against quality attacks. The right-arm speedster said in the same interview:
"I've seen a little bit of Sam. He obviously played really well last week, but he's young and you really don't know what someone is made of until they're out there. If you keep scoring runs and doing well in domestic cricket it sets you up pretty well."
The 31-year-old will mark his return to Aussie colors in the ODI series against Pakistan, starting on November 4.