“I love batting at Number 3”: Steve Smith believes batting at Number 3 is best for him after 12th ODI century vs New Zealand in Cairns

Steve Smith won the Man of the Match award in the 3rd ODI against New Zealand, and he believes number 3 is the best spot for him.

Australia whitewashed New Zealand by 3-0 to clinch the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in Cairns. After winning the initial two T20Is, the Australian side stamped their authority in the 3rd match as well. This was Aaron Finch’s last match in ODI format, but he failed to impress yet again.

On a difficult batting track, Steve Smith again proved his class, and he played an excellent knock of 105 runs in 131 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and one six. Marnus Labuschagne also scored a half-century and Australia manage to score 267 runs in the 1st innings.

The batters of New Zealand failed again, and they got bundled out for just 242 runs. Mitchell Starc took 3 wickets for the hosts, whereas Cameron Green and Sean Abbott got a couple of wickets each.

Steve Smith believes batting at Number 3 is best for him

Steve Smith won the Man of the Match trophy for his brilliant century against New Zealand in the 3rd ODI. Smith said that it was difficult to play in the initial overs as the New Zealand bowlers have been exceptional with the new ball. He insists that he knew how to get past that stage of the match.

“You always want to contribute to the team and help them to success. It was always difficult in the start, their new bowlers have been exceptional. So we knew we had to get through that,” Steve Smith said at the post-match presentation.

There has been a lot of debate about Smith’s batting position, but he said that batting at the number 3 spot is the best for him, but he is open to bat anywhere according to the team needs. He also had a lot of praise fro Aaron Finch, who played his last ODI match for the Australian side.

A super knock from Steve Smith in tricky conditions 💯 #AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/Qv9DmXwI2s

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 11, 2022

“I love batting at number three, I think it’s the best for me but whatever is needed for the team. (On Finch) He’s been huge for the team for 10 years, he’s done a terrific job and we’re all sad to see him leave,” Smith added.

Australia will now switch to the T20I mode and their next assignment is against India. It will be interesting to see that whether he can find place in the playing 11 of T20 format.