Gilchrist Suggests Steve Smith Should Open the Batting for Australia in Champions Trophy

New Delhi: Legendary Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist has proposed that stand-in captain Steve Smith should be positioned as an opener in the upcoming Champions Trophy. Gilchrist believes this strategy would allow Smith to face more deliveries in Australia’s matches in Pakistan, maximizing his impact on the game.

Steve Smith’s Role in the Batting Order

In Australia’s recent 2-0 ODI series loss to Sri Lanka, Smith made 12 and 29 in the middle order. However, with young Jake Fraser-McGurk struggling for consistency, Gilchrist feels the need to elevate Smith to the opening position. While Gilchrist acknowledges Matt Short as a potential partner for Travis Head at the top of the order, he remains confident that Smith should open.

“It’s a challenging one at the moment, but Steve Smith should open. I didn’t see where he was slotted in the game against Sri Lanka. Obviously, Travis is going to be there – he’s fresh and fit. I also like Matt Short being there – he can form a nice left-hand-right-hand combination – that would be the preferred way for me to go,” Gilchrist said.

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Maximizing Smith’s Impact

Gilchrist continued, “But I do think Steve Smith can open – we have seen him do that in 20-over cricket really well. Maybe he’s too valuable in the middle-order, but I can’t see a reason why you wouldn’t want him facing as many balls as possible in a 50-over game. It could be a very viable option to get him up there,” he added during an appearance on ABC Summer Grandstand on Saturday.

Australia’s Challenges Ahead of Champions Trophy

Australia, the current ODI World Cup holders, will face England, Afghanistan, and South Africa in the Champions Trophy league stage. However, they will be without their first-choice pacers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins, as well as key players Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh due to injuries.

Gilchrist highlighted that Australia’s limited preparation for the Champions Trophy might affect their performance in Pakistan, given the lack of practice in the 50-over format.

“I guess there’s been limited preparation with regards to this format. The Australian team were outstanding in the huge summer – both men’s and women’s. But a lot of nations will focus on 50-over cricket when it’s a World Cup year certainly in terms of volume of the games and who’s actually playing it,” he noted.

A Tough Tournament for Australia

Gilchrist further stated, “The next ODI World Cup is in 2027, so this is an opportunity to experiment and give younger players a go. That might bring with it some mixed results – once you get into a tournament, it’s just tournament play and find a way to go through the next round.”

He concluded, “That’s what Australia do well – they scrape well, but it’s going to be challenging in those conditions over there. They don’t have the full strength of players who they would like to take typically, so this might be a tough tournament for them.”