Analysis: How to dismiss Steve Smithpublished at 09:04 GMT 19 November
Ben Jones
CricViz analyst
Image source, Getty Images
Stuart Broad was right to hold his hands up and suggest he struggles to know how to get out Steve Smith.
In Australia, England’s legendary seamer averaged 103 bowling to Steve Smith, getting him out just twice in almost 100 overs. It’s fair to say that with the Kookaburra ball, he never worked the Aussie legend out.
To be fair to him, he’s not alone. Since the 2013-14 Ashes which marked his arrival as a top tier batter, Smith has faced 94 bowlers in home Tests.
Only nine of them have managed to get him out more than twice, and only four of those have managed to do it at an average less than 30: Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj. Across a generation, nobody has ‘worked him out’.
It’s understandable. In Australia, Smith has dominated away swing (averaging 70) and inswing (averaging 92). Against balls on his stumps he averages 21, which may seem low but is still considerably better than most players. Against spinners, he’s averaged 83. There aren’t any obvious silver bullets.
High pace hasn’t been a huge weakness. Against deliveries up above 87mph, his average still sits the right side of 50. However, it is showing signs of falling as he grows older – in the last five summers, he averages just 30 against high pace. An optimistic English fan could say Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have a sniff of unsettling him.
Ultimately, though Smith may not seem it, he is human. His weakness against pace, statistically, is the same as everyone else – good length balls in the channel.
In the last five Australian summers, if you hit a good length (defined as 6-8m from the stumps) as a seamer bowling to Smith – regardless of swing, seam, speed – you average 23. That zone where the batter cannot confidently come forward or back is still the key.
Get the line right as well, the classic couple of feet outside off, and you gain control as well, his strike-rate falling to just 13.
