The eyes were right on top of the ball, the bat right behind its line, with the head positioning as good as perfect. All of these combined to guide Steve Smith to his first Test hundred in 18 months at the Gabba on Sunday.
His 101 in the ongoing third Test placed Smith in second position on the list of Australia’s Test centurions, surpassing Steve Waugh’s 32. Only Ricky Ponting is ahead of Smith now with 41 hundreds.
No wonder Smith was relieved after finally reaching his 33rd Test century as that could be gauged from the manner of his celebration after working Akash Deep to the leg side to bring up the three figures.
“It has been a little while... Been tricky in the first couple of games... Had a couple of nice balls (in Perth) and got strangled down the leg side in Adelaide,” Smith said later.
“It was kind of just sticking to my processes, trusting that it’ll turn around.”
Luck, too, favoured him on this occasion, Smith acknowledged. “Since 2021, when they changed the Kookaburra ball, batting has definitely got tougher, while the wickets have got greener as well. It’s kind of like a perfect storm coming together.
“So, if you get a big score, you’re going to need some luck to do it. And you’re going to have to play really well Test by Test. I’ve been doing it for so long. So, if I want to change a few different things, it really doesn’t take me long to do it,” Smith stated.
What were his adjustments at the Gabba then? “Clearly, this one is a pretty bouncy track, so I was batting out of my crease a little bit, trying to get at the bowler, going across my stance but leaving my left leg a little open.
“I thought my movements were pretty good today (Sunday),” Smith explained.
Praise for Akash
Among the Indian bowlers, Smith not only had to weather the Jasprit Bumrah storm, but he had words of praise for Akash Deep as well. “Akash bowled really nicely, particularly in his first spell.
“He was getting the ball to deviate with pretty significant movement. He’s a nice bowler and bowled a really good length. It was the first time I’ve actually faced him. He has got some skills there for sure,” Smith emphasised.