Steve Smith prediciton thread..

[Crazy Sam]

He's got 12 months to focus totally on preparation for batting Australia to a WC win and Ashes away win upon his return. You would hope in the next 12 months that a couple of the other Aus bats will stand up and make for a better batting lineup all round when he is back.

 

[Victor Ian]

Maybe knowing that 2 players will be dropped in 12 months yet having 12 months to secure their position might be just the motivation some batsmen need. When there is great quality breathing down your neck it sometimes makes players stand up. (wishful thinking is about all that's left).

 

[Slifer]

Can someone list the test series he'll be missing out over the next 12 months.

 

[stephen]

Can someone list the test series he'll be missing out over the next 12 months.

Zimbabwe 1 (away)
Bangladesh 2 (home)
India 4 (home)

I'm not sure what comes after that. It's supposed to be 12 tests in total and all of them minnows.

 

[morgieb]

Zimbabwe 1 (away)
Bangladesh 2 (home)
India 4 (home)

I'm not sure what comes after that. It's supposed to be 12 tests in total and all of them minnows.

Sri Lanka at home, Pakistan away.

 

[stephen]

Sri Lanka at home, Pakistan away.

Even with our weak team I would only expect to have trouble against Pakistan away and maybe drop a test against India.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Yeah, it's not exactly a brutally difficult schedule is it? Pakistan are at one of their lowest ebbs in the last decade. They could set things right in the coming months but it hasn't been promising post Misbah-Younis so far. The rest of those series are cakewalks even without Warner and Smith.

 

[Daemon]

Can someone correct the typo in the thread title. Smith is not a transformer.

 

[vcs]

They'll miss players of that calibre. They lose a couple early and all of a sudden, the fielding side knows they're bowling to Handscomb or Maxwell, rather than Smith. We could see a few more collapses.

 

[OverratedSanity]

They'll miss players of that calibre. They lose a couple early and all of a sudden, the fielding side knows they're bowling to Handscomb or Maxwell, rather than Smith. We could see a few more collapses.

Yes but it won't take long for the batsmen to realize Ishant Sharma is bowling to them.

 

[Starfighter]

Can someone correct the typo in the thread title. Smith is not a transformer.

Are you sure?

 

[Flem274*]

hah, stage is set for the mental weaklings bangladesh to kick a team when they're down with a fluke then bang on about how they're tigers forever

they're unbearable when they suck. god imagine if they had a real slice to shout at indians with.

 

[Victor Ian]

haha. Bangers could actually win a series in Australia before India. This now makes it a win/win regardless of the result.

 

[vcs]

Did you guys watch how they went in SA? It will be a minor miracle if they make a Test close.

 

[Senile Sentry]

Smith is amazing no doubt. But his figures are slightly exaggerated by getting to bat on his favourable home pitches. I wouldn't classify him as a great yet for many good Aussie batsmen of the past had similarly skewed home records (I do not wish to go into details as a stat war is not the purpose of my post).

That said if he is able to withstand this period and come back unscathed then I expect him to go on an absolute run spree. Genuinely becoming a great and possibly an atg.

I do not enjoy him batting but he scores truck loads of runs. That should be his focus always.

He can take a leaf out of Warne s book who was similarly banned for a year and then came back to enjoy probably his most productive period in his career.

 

[Red]

Smith is amazing no doubt. But his figures are slightly exaggerated by getting to bat on his favourable home pitches. I wouldn't classify him as a great yet for many good Aussie batsmen of the past had similarly skewed home records (I do not wish to go into details as a stat war is not the purpose of my post).

Probably good for your argument that you don't go into detail because he averages 53 AWAY from home.

 

[Arachnodouche]

He won't be as dominating for sure. Every statistically imposing batsman of the last 20 yrs has had periods when their averages seemed on the verge of escaping gravity. But it always tapers off, drastically in cases like Ponting and Tendulkar, guys who had generally bulletproof techniques. Smith doesn't have that sort of technique to rely on and mental strength can take you only so far, especially after the recent crisis.

 

[Burgey]

He actually reall has a very good technique. His trigger movements look ugly but his head is still and he’s in line with the ball when it’s released.

 

[Flem274*]

chanderpaul played until he was like 60 and he was also a guy that needed to move a long way to get to the right spot, but as long as things are moving well and he's not following the ball with his hands smith will be fine.

 

[Prince EWS]

chanderpaul played until he was like 60

He's actually still playing, lol.