As if the last year wasn’t good enough for Steve Smith, 2015 could yet prove to be even better.
Still only 25, the Australia batsman—once apparently picked tolighten the mood as much as to contribute runs and wickets—has now firmly established himself as a key cog in both the Test andODI teams.
If there were any doubters still remaining about his batting abilities at the very highest level (and this writer was definitely one of them), then Smith has surely silenced them by now.
The seemingly ever-smiling New South Welshman is proof, if it were needed, that when it comes to batting it is a case of how many, not how. There are no runs added to your score for style.
Sure, his technique might look a little loose at times; his defences can appear less than watertight.
Opposition bowlers have targeted him outside off stump, believing his edge can be found. Per Howstat.com, 54.7 percent of Smith’s dismissals in Test cricket have seen him caught. As a fielding side, you have to feel like a chance could soon come your way when he is at the crease.
However, the ball could also just as easily be flashing past you to the boundary. That, more often than not, has been the case in recent times.
Over the past 12 months Smith has scored five hundreds in nine Tests—prior to 2014 he had managed two in his previous 16 appearances. His Test average has now crept above 50, a watermark for excellence in the modern game.
Just four men in world cricket managed more than Smith’s total of 1,146 runs in the longest format in 2014. As Fox Sports pointed out, he reached 2,000 Test runs before three all-time great Australian batsmen: Allan Border, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting.
Add in the fact he was handed the Test captaincy in the absence of the injured Clarke for the home series against India, and it is fair to say Smith’s stock could not be much higher right now.
The right-hander is ranked fifth in the ICC rankings for batsmen; remember, he was handed his debut in Test cricket as a leg-spinning all-rounder and came in at eight in the order.
The Shane Warne comparisons from the early years may have ended up being wide of the mark, but Smith has still blossomed into an international star.
He has, thankfully, also lost none of his childlike enthusiasm. He seems to sincerely appreciate every opportunity he gets to do something he loves. There is a freedom about his game; he does not seem to change his approach no matter the opponent or situation, as if he could just as easily be out batting for his club as in a Test match.
And even when he's not on the cricket field, that smile is never far away from breaking out (as he proves through his Twitter account).
The question is: How can he top all that he achieved in 2014?
Well, to do so could depend on the fitness of Clarke. The current national skipper has reported himself ahead of schedule on his comeback from surgery on his right thigh, per Ben Horne of News Corp Australia (h/t Daily Telegraph).
It is still hoped he will be fit to lead in the World Cup on home soil in February and March, though he did say in the aftermath of tearing the muscle on the final day of the first Test against India that he may “never play again" for his country, per ABC.net.
Cricket Australia will be planning for all eventualities; it could well be that Clarke sits out the group game of the tournament as a precaution, then return for the knockout stages.
George Bailey has previously stepped into the breach in ODI cricket to captain Australia, most recently leading the team to a 3-0 series triumph over Pakistan in Oct. 2014. However, Border told Grandstand,per ABC.net, that Smith is the “obvious transition” to take over should Clarke lose his fitness battle.
If Australia wants consistency in terms of leadership, Smith has to be their man in charge for the World Cup. He has adapted well to the job in Tests, and unlike Bailey there is no question mark over his place in the ODI team.
The opportunities might not end there for Smith, either.
As if captaining his country on home soil in a major one-day tournament is not big enough, he could yet find himself continuing in the role in Test cricket beyond the home summer. Should Clarke decide his body can no longer hold up for five strenuous days, Smith would seem certain to be handed the reins on a permanent basis in an Ashes year.
There would be no better feeling for an Australia skipper, whoever that ends up being, than lifting the World Cup on home turf before then going on to clinch a first series win in England since 2001.
Of course, these are hypothetical scenarios. Clarke will do all he can to get himself back on the field and make sure he is the man leading his country into battle both at home and abroad.
Whether Clarke returns, and whether Australia are successful on two fronts considering the gruelling, almost year-long schedule they are now facing, remains to be seen.
The runs could yet dry up for Steven Peter Devereux Smith too, meaning the only certainty for 2015 is that he will keep on smiling.
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