Steve Smith has all but confirmed he will miss the T20 World Cup after a poor performance in New Zealand, saying he is “not really concerned” about whether he will play in June's tournament.
Always a competitor, the 34-year-old great has put the T20 disappointment in the rearview mirror and is looking ahead to a rematch with Kiwi seamer Neil Wagner in the Test series starting on Thursday.
As he has done with the Test team, Smith replaced David Warner at the top of Australia's order for the second and third T20s at Eden Park in Auckland, but fell cheaply each time.
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“To be fair, there were some decent balls,” Smith told AAP.
On Friday, he paddled a ball that rose well outside the stumps and grazed it behind him, and on Sunday he was trapped in front by Lockie Ferguson, perhaps the bowler of the series.
“(Adam) Milne got one shot in the second game and it was tough,” Smith said.
“Rocky, when the sun was going down, it was very difficult to pick it up, but he gave me a great inswinger. Look, it wasn't ideal, but it's the way it is. And we don't know what's going to happen next.”
Smith, who has won three World Cups including the 2021 T20 tournament, said he did not think he had a chance in the current T20 squad.
“Honestly, I think they're pretty settled in the top three with (Travis) Head, Warner and (Mitch) Marsh,” Smith said.
“I'm not sure what[the selectors]want to do. Either way, I'm not making too much of a fuss. If I'm there, I'm there. If I'm not, I'm not.” do not have.”
Being left out of the World Cup squad could spell an end to his international T20 career, but Smith's relaxed attitude towards it stands in contrast to his enthusiasm for the upcoming Test series was.
In his 107 Test career, Smith has only traveled to New Zealand for one Test, which he won.
He averaged 131 in the two Test series in 2016, hitting 71 at Basin Reserve, then 138 and an unbeaten 53 at Hagley Oval, the venue for this year's series. .
The latest Test between the two countries in the 2019/20 series in Australia saw the South African-born Kiwi send Smith off four times in five innings, and the battle between Smith and Wagner was well documented.
Wagner's performance against Smith (4-27 in 26.3 overs) certainly suggests an advantage.
Three of the dismissals were pull shots and one was a bouncer, leading to suspicions that Wagner had set the blueprint for Smith's wicket – what the Australians at the time called an “assault”. .
“Obviously I got a few outs against Wagner, two times when the game was way ahead of me and I was trying to take him on,” Smith said after the series. told AAP.
“He’s really good at the way he does it, the way he gets the ball between his ribs and his shoulders.”
Smith expects “something very similar” with this series.
“He's pretty good with the short ball. He does it consistently against a lot of guys and he does it really well,” he said.
“I would say, there's going to be a little bit of that throughout the series, and yeah, he's good at that, so that's going to be a challenge.”
Smith confirmed that he will once again be the starting batsman for New Zealand, downplaying the difference from his previous role.
“It’s fun, but I honestly don’t see it being any different,” he said.
“I've hit threes and been within two overs of fours for a long period of my career. It's actually not that new to me.”
