Initially brought into the team as a bowling all-rounder, Smith debuted against Pakistan in 2010; muscling 77 runs in the second innings of the second Test to demonstrate his batting skills.
In the three match ODI series that preceded the Tests, Smith’s century at Sharjah in the face of adversity – when Australia lost Aaron Finch on the first ball and Smith walked in to face the second ball of the match – made the pundits take note of his skills against the turning ball — a perennial weakness for the men from Down Under.
He was unluckily stumped for 12 runs in the second ODI, but in the third ODI when his team again faced problems batting first against Pakistani bowlers, he rose to the occasion and top-scored with 77 runs to annex the man-of-the-series trophy.
PHOTO: AFPThe baby-faced batsman carried on his impressive run against the slow bowlers in the Tests too, scoring two fighting fifties (55 and 97), both in the second innings at Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Over time, Smith has become an important player in the Australian middle-order and is a fun chap who likes to crack a joke or two to ease the tension in the dressing room.
He was called for the third Ashes Test in 2010 at Perth and he commented, “I've been told that I've got to come into the side and be fun. For me, it's about having energy in the field and making sure I'm having fun and making sure everyone else around is having fun.”
But his interaction with Pakistani players was not appreciated by captain Michael Clarke when the hosts were batting on day four of the second Test match in Abu Dhabi, with Misbahul Haq and Azhar Ali caning Smith’s fellow bowlers.
He was fielding at silly mid-on and after having a small lively chat with Azhar, was cautioned by Clarke to be quiet with him pointing at the Pakistani dressing room saying, “His friends are up there, not down here.”
A few hours later, he was on the receiving end of a brutal assault by the born-again Misbahul Haq who thrashed him for four sixes in a space of two overs en-route to the fastest century in Test match history.
But on the fifth day, he was again seen talking to the fielders around him at silly mid-off and short leg and would ask them if they were alright after smacking a delivery towards them or past them.
A calm middle-order batsman who is not unnerved by pressure and boasts four centuries and seven half-centuries in just 21 Tests with an average of 39.94, a handy leg-spinner who was thought to follow Shane Warne’s line of fame, a lively young individual who knows how to lift his team’s spirit; Steven Smith has proven with his dynamic personality that he is the all-round good guy of the Australian team who, like his face, has a childlike heart.
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Hope Smith gets to read this. Super Smith