Australia batter Steve Smith. (AP Image)
Ricky Ponting is convinced that Smith will be back in his form, after the Ashes series.
Though Australia registered a 4-0 victory over England in the Ashes Test series, Steve Smith’s performance with the willow is still under scrutiny. Smith scored a total of 244 runs in five Tests at an average of 30.40 which nowhere matches his standards and records. The batter’s overall average has also dipped under 60 for the first time since 2017. This is the leanest patch for Smith, ever since he had come into the Test arena. However, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting is convinced that Smith will be back in his form, after the Ashes series.
Owing to his extraordinary knocks in the previous Ashes series, Smith was expected to be the toughest batter to dismiss for England. But it was not the case in the recently concluded series. Though the right-hander did score a couple of innings in the 90s, the big hundreds did not come from his willow.
While speaking to cricket.com.au, Pointing mentioned that Smith has set high standards, and they cannot be prolonged for a long time. “For three to a four-year period, where he took batting to another level, to try and maintain that for four or five or six years – no-one’s ever done it, and no-one will probably ever do it,” Pointing said. He stated that the average of 30 was not that bad to underline despite the fact that he has been out of form. Pointing also explained the impact Smith can have over the team’s performance when he is in form.
Ponting is confident that Smith will analyze his game in what has gone wrong so far, and he also expects him to get the answers himself like all best players tend to do it. The former Australia captain said that it won’t be too long until Smith is back in form, taking into account his consistency levels.
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