Australia have a wide range of options to choose from for David Warner’s replacement at the top of their Test batting line-up but if it were up to only Pat Cummins then he isn’t in favour of displacing Steve Smith from the middle-order just yet.
Smith, a former captain and one of the greats of the format, threw his hat in the ring to take up a new challenge, telling ABC Grandstand that he was ‘pretty keen’ to move up the batting order but Cummins isn’t convinced just yet to add his most prolific batter to the list of contenders for this highly specialised role.
“I’m pretty happy with [Smith’s] output at No. 4,” Cummins said after Australia sealed a 3-0 win over Pakistan with victory at the SCG. “Obviously Marnus [Labuschagne], Smudge [Smith], Trav [Head] and [Mitchell] Marsh have been pretty impressive at Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6. So first instinct isn’t probably to disrupt that.”
One of the options for Australia would be to have Marnus Labuschagne move up a spot but the incumbent No.3 opined that he was happy with his batting position and even endorsed Smith’s desire for a new challenge.
“He averages 58 at five, 61 at four and 67 at three – so it seems like the higher he goes, the more he averages,” Labuschagne told SEN. “I’ve got no doubt if that’s the way we go, he will do very well. He really wants it, he wants that motivation… waiting to bat is not his forte; he wants to get out there straightaway.
“I’m happy to do what the team needs, but I do love batting at three; I love the variety of the role. At the moment, it could be anyone. I’ve seen the media throwing around Travis Head, throwing around me, [and] obviously the three openers outside of the squad – Cameron Bancroft, Matt Renshaw and Marcus Harris. Smudge [Smith] seems like the lead frontrunner, the one that really wants it.”
Australia’s selectors are slated to meet on Monday (January 8) when they are likely to pick the squad for the first Test against West Indies as well as choose Warner’s replacement. Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw are options in the mix, all three of them having opened in Test cricket previously. Travis Head would seem to be a more like-for-like replacement for Warner and bring an attacking edge against the new ball but he ruled himself out of such a move despite performing the role briefly in India last year, stating that it was a specialist role.
A left field option for the team management would be to reintroduce talented all-rounder Cameron Green into the XI as an opener similar to how Shane Watson found himself moving up the order during his career. Green has never batted higher than No. 6 in his 36 Test innings and has never opened in first-class cricket, although he has opened in T20Is for Australia. But it also might be the least disruptive option for the selectors to get him into the Test team given how they’ve wanted him back as well as the settled nature of the middle order.
“It’s obviously going to be really hard to replicate Davey and what he’s brought to it. I think you look for who is best placed to score runs, really. But I think, in Test cricket, there are some things that remain true – and that is you’ve got to be putting the pressure on the opposition. You’ve got to be ticking over the scoreboard. Not always – but most of the time – you’ve got to keep the scoreboard moving along.
“There are considerations, but realistically, if anyone is scoring runs in Shield cricket, it’s probably a good sign they can do it at the next level,” Cummins said.
