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Star Australian batter Steve Smith's long-time manager Warren Craig has clarified that Smith will not follow his teammate David Warner into Test retirement after the forthcoming home summer. The former Australian captain thinks he can still achieve more.
Notably, Smith has maintained an average of 34 since the conclusion of the preceding home season, including tours to India and England.
Warner had expressed his wish for a farewell in Sydney following the third and final Test against Pakistan, commencing on January 3, 2024. Discussions have arisen about Smith potentially following suit after an underwhelming season against India and England this year.
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Despite the New South Welshman's outstanding overall average, boasting 9320 runs from 102 Tests at an average of 58.61 with 32 centuries, he has faced difficulties in scoring big runs this season.
However, Craig did not buy into the floating rumours.
“I can debunk that (retirement) at this point in time. He’s still talking about things he wants to achieve,” Craig was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.
The 34-year-old top-order batter has secured every trophy in his illustrious career, including the Ashes (thrice), ODI World Cup (2015 and 2023), T20 World Cup (2021), and the World Test Championship (2023).
However, in 2023, he has only managed to score 518 runs across 17 innings with an average of 34.53. Despite the challenges, standing on the verge of becoming the fourth Australian batter to reach 10,000 Test runs, Smith may be eager not to miss this milestone. Allan Border, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh are the only other Australian players to have achieved this landmark.
Smith also displayed decent form in the recently concluded ODI World Cup in India, accumulating 302 runs from 10 innings at an average of 33.55 with two fifties.
However, former Australian captain Mark Taylor offered a word of caution to Smith.
“It doesn’t mean they’re done (in mid 30s), but normally you’ve seen their best by then. The early-30s would be the purple patch for most players,” he told SMH.
Smith's upcoming international commitments include a three-match Test series against Pakistan, followed by an all-format tour against the West Indies starting on January 17. Australia will proceed to New Zealand for two Tests and a T20I series commencing on February 21.
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