Steve Smith as Captain

[ManWithNoName]

So we've reached the end of Smith's first series as captain, a 2-0 win over New Zealand, and the halfway point of his first summer. What are people's thoughts so far?

He's certainly a change from Clarke. Seems less pro-active, both in the field and in terms of declarations. He's still learning his way so that could change over time. And certainly not being aggressive isn't always terrible.

However the Adelaide Test was concerning in a couple of ways. Firstly when Starc couldn't field we had no actual substitute fielder available and were forced to send on the ******* masseuse. Whether that goes back to Smith or not, I dunno. But I can't recall anything like that happening in our recent history. I understand releasing the 12th Man to play Shield cricket, but that was an embarrassment.

Secondly, as was pointed out in the match thread, there was sending out Starc at #9. He's on crutches and in a moonboot for a reason. It was utter stupidity. Firstly it meant, for the most part, we could only win with a slog which increased the chances of another wicket and more pressure building. And secondly, it could massively increase the risk of Starc making the injury worse. Look at how he ran those two runs. He was hopping by the end. And why? We had two other guys in the sheds. Lyon's shown on countless occasions an ability to hang around. It was just utterly pointless and stupid. And this goes directly back to Smith. It would have been (one would assume) his call.

So that's my little rant over. What are other people's thoughts on Smith so far?

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Clarke was a pretty special on-field captain. Was always going to be a tough gig following him. I'm reserving judgement until the end of the summer.

 

[King Elvis]

He's ******* awesome.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I liked how he had a crack at Starc publicly for throwing the ball at the batsman. Set down his authorita early.

Onfield stuff a bit early to tell yet.

 

[Dugdale2Dwyer]

I'd give Nevill the job

 

[The_Reaper]

The Masseur thing is quite clearly not his call. At professional level it's not the Captain's job to organise a 12th man. He gets what he's given.

The logic with Starc is that if Hazlewood and Lyon got out quickly you don't want to be stuck with Starc having to slog - so send Starc out now in the hopes that he can slog a few runs or Siddle can score them while Hazlewood and Lyon provide insurance.

The Doctors obviously okayed it

 

[Mego Red]

We needed one run to tie when Starc came out.

Smith was being sentimental and wanted Starc out there for the win. I liked it.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Prefer him to Clarke already. No doubt Clarke would have been "aggressive" with his declaration in Perth....and more than likely lost. The only criticism I have with Smith is he underbowls Marsh a lot.

 

[Pugsley]

Just give the job to the property steward.

 

[boncer34]

The Masseur thing is quite clearly not his call. At professional level it's not the Captain's job to organise a 12th man. He gets what he's given.

The logic with Starc is that if Hazlewood and Lyon got out quickly you don't want to be stuck with Starc having to slog - so send Starc out now in the hopes that he can slog a few runs or Siddle can score them while Hazlewood and Lyon provide insurance.

The Doctors obviously okayed it

Well said and the obvious points.

Watch them get glossed over for outrage.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Prefer him to Clarke already. No doubt Clarke would have been "aggressive" with his declaration in Perth....and more than likely lost.

Did Clarke ever do that?

 

[Allezjuel]

Did Clarke ever do that?

He never lost but almost got embarrassed a couple of times from sporting declarations, the two stand outs Being vs England at the Oval 2013 and vs India at Adelaide in 2014.

 

[Van_Dyke]

I'd give Nevill the job

Really?

 

[LukeParkerno1]

He never lost but almost got embarrassed a couple of times from sporting declarations, the two stand outs Being vs England at the Oval 2013 and vs India at Adelaide in 2014.

The England one was pretty horrendous...and if not for bad light England win comfortably.

 

[Allezjuel]

The England one was pretty horrendous...and if not for bad light England win comfortably.

Yeah but in the situation of the series 4-0 is not much different to 3-0. If the series was alive no question it would have been a dumb declaration.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Yeah but in the situation of the series 4-0 is not much different to 3-0. If the series was alive no question it would have been a dumb declaration.

I much prefer a 3-0 loss than a 4-0 loss personally. It is a loss but a slightly less awful one.

 

[RAPPA]

Looks like Nick Riewoldt. Pass.

 

[JackOutback]

Should be sacked for the terrible Commonwealth Bank ad.

 

[The 747]

So far, no strong opinion either way on him. Seems competent. Hasn't buried anyone yet AFAIK.

 

[NathanBracken04]

The Masseur thing is quite clearly not his call. At professional level it's not the Captain's job to organise a 12th man. He gets what he's given.

The logic with Starc is that if Hazlewood and Lyon got out quickly you don't want to be stuck with Starc having to slog - so send Starc out now in the hopes that he can slog a few runs or Siddle can score them while Hazlewood and Lyon provide insurance.

The Doctors obviously okayed it

The masseuse thing was also a fairly massive beat up by the major news distributors. The guy had experience playing high level cricket and does fielding training with the Test team, so clearly they knew what to expect from him. News.com.au reported it as if Smith had pulled someone out of the crowd.

 

[Underdog]

The masseuse thing was also a fairly massive beat up by the major news distributors. The guy had experience playing high level cricket and does fielding training with the Test team, so clearly they knew what to expect from him. News.com.au reported it as if Smith had pulled someone out of the crowd.

Apparently he's fielded in several overseas tours in the past too. It's not a concern IMO. Particularly if the substitutes offered were young, inexperienced kids.

 

[Mateyman]

He never lost but almost got embarrassed a couple of times from sporting declarations, the two stand outs Being vs England at the Oval 2013 and vs India at Adelaide in 2014.

Oh yeah, that game we never would have won if it wasn't for his sporting declaration.

 

[Glacier]

Can bat
Has a punch-able face
I wonder if it will take long when his shows of petulance when given out to a close decision or when a team mate spills a catch will rub someone up the wrong way

 

[Borisdog]

One thing that encourages me is that he seems to be unwilling to accept prolonged periods of poor bowling (Nor was Clarke). I like how he's insisted on Lyon changing his line at times. His method hasn't been good in that regard but that will change with "managerial" experience, the fact that he's willing to insist on a line is good. Lyon is often his own worst enemy with his predisposition to bowl around the wicket to righthanders, negating the lovely rough cut up by our lefthanded quicks.

Ponting used to really s**t me in that regard. Over after over of wayward tripe from Johnson with Ponting doing a teapot imitation in slips, and on he bowled.

 

[the_interloper]

He's started off well, had a good series win and seems well liked by the players (unlike his predecessor). What a weird scenario, if you had have said a few years ago that Smith would be our Test captain and best bat and Mitchell Starc our spearhead, I would have accused you of being quite stoned.