FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Ashes - Fifth Test - England v Australia - The Oval, London, Britain - July 31, 2023 Australia's Steve Smith in action Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - While India frets about Virat Kohli's lean run ahead of the blockbuster test series against Australia, the hosts have their own batting quandary in the form of Steve Smith.
Following a failed stint as an opener after David Warner's retirement, the 35-year-old will be back at number four for the series opener in Perth and desperate to bat away perceptions that his best days are behind him.
In a 109-test career that has spanned most of the batting order, number four has been Smith's sweet spot, yielding 19 of his 32 centuries and an astonishing average of 61.46.
The return to his favoured slot has been warmly welcomed in Australia, not least by opener and teammate Usman Khawaja who said Smith would be better off there months ago.
It was a backhanded compliment for a batter who was posting Bradman-esque figures a few years ago and whose defence seemed virtually impregnable.
Smith has rarely, if ever, doubted his own talent but even he was aware that his spell at the top of the order was proving unpopular.
"Marnus (Labuschagne) and Uzzie (Khawaja), they hated me up top, to be honest. They wanted me behind them. So that was a big part of it," said Smith.
To his detractors, Smith has taken on Warner's mantle as a former batting phenomenon holding on too long to his spot in a team crying out for regeneration.
That view strengthened as Smith struggled with 51 runs in Australia's two-test tour of New Zealand in February and March, even as young all-rounder Cameron Green topped the batting with 238 runs, playing mostly at number four.
Green's back injury, which has ruled him out of the entire India series, has taken some heat off Smith to justify his spot in a largely settled top six.
But the murmurs will grow louder if his lean period extends into the India series.
'THE WOOD'
Unlike Warner, who signalled his retirement plans well in advance, Smith has shown no indication of when he intends to walk away from the game.
Selectors may be reluctant to push him aside given his imperious record, which includes a batting average of 65.87 against India compared to his career average of 56.97.
On home soil, Smith's value is striking; Australia have never lost a test in which he has scored a century.
India will prize Smith's wicket highly and their bowlers' ability to shackle him was a key factor in their brilliant 2-1 series victory in the last test tour in 2020/21.
Though Smith finished second on the batting list with 313 runs behind Labuschagne (426), 212 of his runs came in the drawn Sydney test.
Smith has had more trouble against India's spinners than their pacers, falling to Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja eight times each.
His battle with Ashwin, India's leading wicket-taker, will be keenly watched following the spinner's declaration last week that he had "the wood" over the batsman.
Smith is hoping for a better start in the coming series after being dismissed for one run in the first test in Adelaide in 2020 and a duck in the second in Melbourne, both times by Ashwin.
"(I need to) just be proactive against him and not let him settle and bowl the way he wants to," said Smith.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
