Steven Smith vows to be more aggressive as captain

Vice-captain promises he will change the approach he deployed against India.

SYDNEY: Australia’s Steven Smith has vowed to be a more aggressive captain, if he is appointed to lead the side as expected, following a disastrous Ashes campaign which prompted Michael Clarke’s retirement.

The 26-year-old, in line to take over after Clarke’s final Test at The Oval, has promised to be less defensive than he was while captaining against India at home earlier this year. “I think the two games that we drew [against India], I could probably be a bit more aggressive there and give ourselves more of a chance to bowl the opposition out,” said Smith. “But in regards to my captaincy I think it’ll be pretty similar.”

“Every game I’ve captained so far I’ve scored a hundred. I’d like to keep that going,” he said.

“If I am named the captain, I would like to lead from the front with my performances, for sure.”

Smith said one of the lessons of this miserable Ashes tour, in which Australia were all out for only 60 in their first innings at Trent Bridge in the fourth Test, was patience. “England make you earn your runs; all of their bowlers swing the ball both ways,” said Smith. “The lessons are just about trying to get yourself in. Be really patient at the start of your innings. In Australia we’re taught to play out in front a little bit more. You have to really wait for the ball here in England.”

Clarke, 34, announced he was retiring after England completed a crushing innings and 78-run victory at Trent Bridge on Saturday to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th,  2015.

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