A year out made Steve Smith run-hungry, but a cheap out and a send-off has made him plain ravenous. Pakistani Yasir Shah’s pointed celebration at dismissing Australia’s star batsman in the series-opener has spiked Smith’s motivation for the second Test starting on Friday in Adelaide.
Shah raised seven fingers, denoting the number of times he has got Smith out in Test cricket, in an act noted as “interesting” by the Australian.
“It gave me a bit more motivation next game to not get out to him,” Smith told reporters in Adelaide on Tuesday. “So I will probably be a little bit more disciplined against him.”
Smith made just four runs before being bowled attempting a lavish drive against Shah in Australia’s only innings during their first Test win in Brisbane. Smith then inflicted some self-abuse by running the three kilometres back to the hotel instead of catching the team bus.
“I always punish myself when I get no runs, just like I reward myself when I score runs with a chocolate bar at the end of the night if I get a hundred,” he said. “So yeah, if I get no runs I always like to have a run or go to the gym or do something just to give myself a bit of a punishment.”
England paceman Stuart Broad has claimed Smith’s wicket eight times in Tests – the only bowler to dismiss the Australian more than legspinner Shah. But Broad’s haul comes in 24 Tests while Shah has played just six Tests against Smith.
“I feel the times he [Shah] has got me out, I have been on a few runs,” Smith said. “I have been slogging in a couple of second innings ones where I was playing some funky shots and stuff so I’m not too worried.
“I thought he bowled really well at the Gabba, got some good drift and a little bit of spin on a wicket that probably wasn’t spinning that much, so bowled well.”
Smith came to the crease in Brisbane with Australia 351-2. “I probably do bat a little bit better when there is pressure on, for sure,” he said. “The situation we were at was a pretty good one … I actually spoke to JL [coach Justin Langer] in the morning.
“I was like ’how should I approach this today, what do you think?’ and he said ’do what you want to do’. I thought about being quite aggressive and it didn’t work.”
“It’s fine with me. I know that batting, you fail a lot, so when you get in need to make the most of it.”