AUS vs PAK | Next few days is about getting used to bounce at Gabba, reveals Steve Smith
Despite having a great Ashes, Steve Smith is not ready to drop the guard and is going to spend his next few days trying to get used to the bounce of the Gabbatoir. The New South Welshman also shared his admiration for Pakistani pace bowlers, while adding that Naseem Shah has a mountain to climb.
2019 Ashes was the culmination of the process that Steve Smith has dedicated himself to for the longest of times now. A totally unorthodox batsman who revels in the most challenging of situations, Smith whacked English bowlers to submission on his way to a 774-run Ashes. That he missed a Test in between added to the aura, as he is now back to his home country to take on Pakistan in a two-match Test series.
This, however, will be a completely different challenge for Smith as he would encounter pace and bounce unlike conditions in England where swing was the major calling card. As the challenge beckons at the Gabba, a venue that evokes good memories for him from the Ashes two years ago, Smith is set to go back to the drawing board in order to tackle Pakistani quicks.
"I'm feeling good. I probably just have to try and get used to the bounce of the wicket again at the Gabba. It's probably a little bit different to the last two Shield games I've played at Drummoyne and SCG, where they've been pretty benign wickets. I don't think I had a slip in basically for the whole time I batted at Drummoyne and the SCG. I just found it hard scoring," Smith was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"There was no slip, there was a ring field, the square was pretty dead, and the wicket was pretty dead. There was a couple of times I hit and got it in the gap and thought 'that's runs. So I couldn't get them away, but it's nice to spend some time in the middle all the same. For me, the next few days is about getting used to the bounce at the Gabba and practicing leaving (the ball) well, and just being patient again. I'm sure I'll get plenty of that work in, and be good to go on Thursday," he added.
The current Pakistani line-up has a combination of varied skill set that has a reputation of its own. Mohammad Abbas is renowned for his control and the ability to extract subtle seam movement, while the promising pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Musa and Naseem Shah have a solid showing lately to show for their name. Smith stated that it would be interesting to tackle the quartet.
"I've never faced Abbas...he stands the seam up, any sort of movement he'll get the most out of it. And it looks like Shah bowls with some good pace. Being as young as he is, he probably hasn't bowled lots of overs consistently so it'll be about making him come back and bowl as many spells as he can and see if he can maintain it," Smith added.
