“Fingers crossed for a better wicket”: Steve Smith hopes for batting pitch at MCG for Boxing Day Test vs South Africa

Any batter would be well within his rights to pipe dream of a batting-friendly pitch in the next match after participating in a two-day Test match and Australia vice-captain Steven Smith is no different.

One of the few resilient batters to at least look competitive in the challenge of facing express fast bowlers on a lush green pitch, Smith scored 36 (68) and 6 (5) across a couple of innings in the last two days.

Seen and heard motivating himself after coping an Anrich Nortje delivery in the midriff, Smith eventually got out to the same bowler to a delivery which was unequivocally worthy of dismissing a batter of his class. In the second innings, however, Smith edged a short and wide Kagiso Rabada delivery to South Africa wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne in an unsuccessful attempt of playing a slash.

Steve Smith hopes for batting pitch at MCG for Boxing Day Test vs South Africa

Notwithstanding his involvement in a game-changing 117-run fourth-wicket partnership alongside batter Travis Head in the first innings of the recently concluded first Test against South Africa in Brisbane, Smith publicly expressed a desire of batting in less challenging conditions in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“I felt really good the first innings. I thought I played really nicely. I got a pretty good ball to get me out, which sometimes you can’t do too much about, on these wickets in particular. But I feel good. Fingers crossed for a better wicket to bat on [in Melbourne] and we’ll see how we go,” Smith told cricket.com.au after the completion of the second-shortest Test match (by balls bowled) in Australia.

Smith, who described the pitch at the Gabba as the “most challenging wicket” he’s played on at home, recollected how his previous experience of playing a shortest Test match had come at the MCG last year. For the unversed, Smith was referring to third Ashes 2021-22 Test which had come to an end in the seventh session. Having said that, England were more at fault than the pitch back then.