Steve Smith: Australia Initially Unconvinced About His Move to Opener After Warner’s Retirement

Star Australia batter Steve Smith opined that his team did not take him seriously when he told them that he wanted to move to the top of the batting order after David Warner’s retirement.

Smith said today that looking at himself as an opener for the first time in a 13-year Test career first came to his mind while playing against England during last year’s Ashes series when Warner first gave signs of his potential retirement from the longest format of the game.

However, it wasn’t until the team landed in Perth for the start of the NRMA Insurance Series against Pakistan last month that the 34-year-old proposed his concept to the national selection committee, which included men’s team coach Andrew McDonald.

“I’d been pushing it for a few weeks, even before Perth and I might have even floated it in England randomly and said I’m happy to play up top,” cricket.com.au. quoted Smith as saying.

His comments came today prior to his first Test training session before the West Indies Test series.

“In Perth I said ‘after Davey’s done I’m actually keen to get up there’ and I don’t think they (selectors) took me seriously until I got to Sydney (for the pink Test against Pakistan) and said ‘you know I’m actually being genuine here’,” the right-hand batter added.

“I’d be keen to get up top and face the new ball and they were like ‘we’ll take that under advisement and see how it all looks’. They were obviously very keen to get Cameron (Green) in the side as well and play our best six batters, and for me it didn’t sit right to have him come in and bat up top. I’ve played for a long time and I’m an experienced player, and I think it’s something I should have done,” the Sydney-born cricketer concluded.

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