Steven Smith could miss World Cup as part of staggered return

[Nikola]

"We've got to keep working on how they are with their elbows, first. They're going to need to get some cricket before coming back into the squad. It's all part of the management. We'll have to wait and see," Australia's coach Justin Langer said.

 

"[Re-integration] has been going on for some time now. We know it's been a tough time for them, it's been a tough time for Australian cricket, but we know the word integration has been going for the last nine or ten months, or eleven, it's getting closer isn't it."

 

"We're talking about two great players, we're not talking about two really good players. Two great players who on paper we'd be crazy not to have them in the team. It's about how much cricket they get to play between now and then. They'll find opportunities. We'll find opportunities, but I can't say anything else."

 

 

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25928230/steven-smith-miss-world-cup-part-staggered-return

[velu]

both will test their form in IPL  

[maniac]

Need David Warner back soon . He would have beasted the CsK trundlers in the IPL final  

Edited February 5, 2019 by maniac

[Clarke]

Not a prolific odi batsman anyways, might as well save him for ashes.

[maniac]

3 minutes ago, Clarke said:

Not a prolific odi batsman anyways, might as well save him for ashes.

Clutch though, he won a WC and an Ashes at home, so apart from winning an Ashes or may be a series in India  away don’t think there is much to accomplish for an Aussie player. Don’t think they are too flustered about T20 WC. 

 

However he  was heartbroken when he lost the IPL final. A lot of Aussies and Saffers seem to rank that pretty high on their list though

[Gollum]

6 minutes ago, Clarke said:

Not a prolific odi batsman anyways, might as well save him for ashes.

What he did in QF/SF/F in the 2015 WC was unprecedented and might never be repeated again. He is prolific, the opposite of someone like Amla. 

[Real McCoy]

12 minutes ago, maniac said:

Need David Warner back soon . He would have beasted the CsK trundlers in the IPL final  

 

[Gollum]

Cricket without the Emperor is boring AF, can't wait any longer for his return. My head aches watching peasants clumsily fighting each other to keep the throne seat warm in his majesty's absence. Smith's ban is similar to Muhammad Ali's hiatus at his peak, that Vietnam war saga and the refusal to participate in the war. If he can mount a successful comeback......needn't necessarily reach his previous heights, that will make him GOAT of the post world war era. Cricket is crying out for the return of the superstar, his comeback match will be a red letter day in the history of the sport. He had to endure the most unfair punishment over a trivial incident, I only wish the lad the best of luck and hope he shows his past greatness upon his long awaited return. 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Gollum

[maniac]

1 minute ago, Gollum said:

Cricket without the Emperor is boring AF, can't wait any longer for his return. My head aches watching peasants clumsily fighting each other to keep the throne seat warm in his majesty's absence. Smith's ban is similar to Muhammad Ali's hiatus at his peak, that Vietnam war saga and the refusal to participate in the war. If he can mount a successful comeback......needn't necessarily reach his previous heights, that will make him GOAT of the post world war era. Cricket is crying out for the return of the superstar, his comeback match will be a red letter day in the history of the sport. He had to endure the most unfair punishment over a trivial incident, I only wish the lad the best of luck and hope he shows his past greatness upon his return. 

[Gollum]

1 minute ago, maniac said:

I meant every single word I wrote. 

[Nikola]

18 minutes ago, Clarke said:

Not a prolific odi batsman anyways, might as well save him for ashes.

Was clutch batsman for Aus during important stages in 2015 worldcup. The way he played wahab's spell when watson struggled to touch bat with ball was quite impressive. 100 vs India in Semi Final & 56* not out in final chasing tricky score.

[Nikhil_cric]

Smith is as clutch as they come ; But he was always reliant on his exceptional hand eye coordination . Not sure how long he can maintain that level of performance .

[Gollum]

30 minutes ago, Nikola said:

Was clutch batsman for Aus during important stages in 2015 worldcup. The way he played wahab's spell when watson struggled to touch bat with ball was quite impressive. 100 vs India in Semi Final & 56* not out in final chasing tricky score.

Absolutely agree.

 

In the history of WC no batsman has done what Smith did in those 3 KOs in 2015. The only equivalent may be Mohinder Amarnath in SF/F of 1983...but that was an A/R display, strictly talking about batting here. Aravinda sort of failed in the 1996 QF (still the closest comparison) while guys like Viv, Gilchrist, Sachin, Hayden, Dhoni, Ponting, Lloyd, Gooch, Mahela, Gambhir etc failed in at least 1 of the KO matches. 

 

QF: Australia was surely losing if not for Smith, Wahab was brutal that day yet was made to look like a club player by the Aussie legend, that too in a pressure cooker situation. And Pakistan is historically a great defender of totals in big matches, they had their tails up that match.

 

SF: We got Warner out early and Finch was struggling, barely surviving and his timing was off. He scored 81 (116), a SR below 70 !!! But Smith was in God mode that day, middling every ball, finding gaps easily, toying with the bowlers...against a unit that had taken 70 wickets in the group stage. Scored a majestic 105 of 90 deliveries and ensured their RR was good when he departed. I am convinced that had he failed Australia would have been restricted to 260-280 total judging by the way Finch was struggling....a chasable target. The contrast between Kohli and Smith couldn't have been starker that day, and such was the occasion that it will always be a talking point when their H2H comparisons are made. 

 

F: Small total but they were 60/2 at one stage and the memories of the group encounter were fresh. He shouldered responsibility, absorbed the pressure of a WC final and saw his team through by remaining not out. 

 

This is why I laugh when people belittle Smith the ODI bat and hype Kohli to the moon. Kohli's WC KO record is for all of us to see, just an Amla on steroids who feasts in inconsequential ODI matches, meaningless and worthless stats boosting if you ask my honest opinion. That may change in the future but let us live in the present. If I had to choose a batsman from the current era to save the planet against aliens in a hypothetical ODI format duel I would have Smith above the more accomplished ODI bats of the modern era (Kohli, ABDV, Amla, Root, Rohit, Dhoni etc)...that's the respect I have for Smith's mental strength. 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Gollum

[Clarke]

2015 was 4 years ago. He's struggling with his elbow despite a year long ban. No point playing him in odis when his best format is tests by a light year & Ashes is really valued in Aus.

[UrmiSinhaRay]

Frankly speaking Australia Cricket Board destroyed his career -and ruined themselves
That's where BCCI Rocks.
They always try to save faces of their "top" players regardless what they do .

Sent from my CPH1609 using Tapatalk

[Nikola]

7 minutes ago, UrmiSinhaRay said:

Frankly speaking Australia Cricket Board destroyed his career -and ruined themselves
That's where BCCI Rocks.
They always try to save faces of their "top" players regardless what they do .

Sent from my CPH1609 using Tapatalk
 

true i highly doubt he will be same after this big gap without international cricket and he lost his peak time as well.

[Vilander]

8 hours ago, Nikola said:

We've got to keep working on how they are with their elbows, first.

lol what is that.

 

both Smith and Warner have elbow injuries now ?

 

i think both these guys will retire while they are away. 

[R!TTER]

Just now, Gollum said:

Absolutely agree.

 

In the history of WC no batsman has done what Smith did in those 3 KOs in 2015. The only equivalent may be Mohinder Amarnath in SF/F of 1983...but that was an A/R display, strictly talking about batting here. Aravinda sort of failed in the 1996 QF (still the closest comparison) while guys like Viv, Gilchrist, Sachin, Hayden, Dhoni, Ponting, Lloyd, Gooch, Mahela, Gambhir etc failed in at least 1 of the KO matches. 

 

QF: Australia was surely losing if not for Smith, Wahab was brutal that day yet was made to look like a club player by the Aussie legend, that too in a pressure cooker situation. And Pakistan is historically a great defender of totals in big matches, they had their tails up that match.

 

SF: We got Warner out early and Finch was struggling, barely surviving and his timing was off. He scored 81 (116), a SR below 70 !!! But Smith was in God mode that day, middling every ball, finding gaps easily, toying with the bowlers...against a unit that had taken 70 wickets in the group stage. Scored a majestic 105 of 90 deliveries and ensured their RR was good when he departed. I am convinced that had he failed Australia would have been restricted to 260-280 total judging by the way Finch was struggling....a chasable target. The contrast between Kohli and Smith couldn't have been starker that day, and such was the occasion that it will always be a talking point when their H2H comparisons are made. 

 

F: Small total but they were 60/2 at one stage and the memories of the group encounter were fresh. He shouldered responsibility, absorbed the pressure of a WC final and saw his team through by remaining not out. 

 

This is why I laugh when people belittle Smith the ODI bat and hype Kohli to the moon. Kohli's WC KO record is for all of us to see, just an Amla on steroids who feasts in inconsequential ODI matches, meaningless and worthless stats boosting if you ask my honest opinion. That may change in the future but let us live in the present. If I had to choose a batsman from the current era to save the planet against aliens in a hypothetical ODI format duel I would have Smith above the more accomplished ODI bats of the modern era (Kohli, ABDV, Amla, Root, Rohit, Dhoni etc)...that's the respect I have for Smith's mental strength. 

You're kidding, that Aus team would chase the total even if they were 6 down. That was a really low total & just a single Wahab spell wouldn't have done anything!

 

Yes, on the flattest of Sydney tracks but you know who made the difference in the end - Aus lower/middle order. They scored those crucial knocks otherwise after Smith got out India could've restricted them under 300 easily.

 

That game was over in the first over, when BMac had his infamous brain melt!

 

Smith is good but he's nowhere near as godly under pressure as you're making it out to be! If he was we'd have seen in the other 5 or 6 ICC tournaments he's played.

[Vilander]

2 hours ago, Gollum said:

no batsman has done what Smith did in those 3 KOs in 2015

all that based on a sample of 3 games ok.

[Gollum]

15 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

You're kidding, that Aus team would chase the total even if they were 6 down. That was a really low total & just a single Wahab spell wouldn't have done anything!

May or may not be but they were struggling real bad that day.

15 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

 

Yes, on the flattest of Sydney tracks but you know who made the difference in the end - Aus lower/middle order. They scored those crucial knocks otherwise after Smith got out India could've restricted them under 300 easily.

Pitch didn't change character, no one stopped the others from scoring.....Smith made the difference. Lower middle order had a solid platform already set thanks to the great man. ODI innings are constructed around top 4 90% of the time. 

15 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

 

That game was over in the first over, when BMac had his infamous brain melt!

So what, they still had to score the runs. He could easily have choked, he didn't. 

15 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

 

Smith is good but he's nowhere near as godly under pressure as you're making it out to be! If he was we'd have seen in the other 5 or 6 ICC tournaments he's played.

ICC WC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>WT20, CT. I never claimed he's a great T20 player, in fact he is horrible in that circus format. His WC and CT numbers, the ones played in 50 over format are awesome.