Australian batsman Steven Smith wants to be the team's new Test number three and if gets put up in the position then he would he would be happy to take on the responsibility.
Australian batsman Steven Smith wants to be the team's new Test number three and if gets put up in the position then he would he would be happy to take on the responsibility.
The crucial number three spot in Test for Australia has come under question after their all-rounder Shane Watson was axed from their World Cup XI following his dismal run of form. The first drop position is the most pivotal in the order and Australia has failed to find a star performer there since Ricky Ponting's retirement.
With Smith wanting to be Australia's new Test number three there is no reason why a changing of the guard won't happen by the time the team tours West Indies in June,News.com.au reported.
Watson's best chance of keeping his place for the Ashes may be to reinvent himself as a number five and play in conjunction with fellow all-rounder Mitchell Marsh at six.
Smith, David Warner and Michael Clarke are the three best batsmen in the side and should all be in the top four to give Australia the best chance of winning the Ashes away from home.
Smith, who went in at the crucial number three against Afghanistan in Perth, wasted no opportunity to prove his class, as he knocked a classy 95 as part of a record 260-run stand with Warner.
Smith said that if he got put up to number three in Tests he would be happy to take on that responsibility, that's for sure, adding that that's not up to him at the moment, insisting that obviously Clarke is the captain.
The young batting star said that he enjoys batting at three, adding that he has obviously had a little bit of success there in the one-day tri-series.
Smith said that it was obviously disappointing for Watson to miss out, adding that he was quite shocked to be honest and didn't see it coming. But he said that hopefully he can continue his form up there.
Smith said that for them as a batting group they have been a little bit disappointing with the ways they have got out and they have put a big emphasis on the top four or five getting the bulk of the runs. He added that they have probably left it up to guys like James Faulkner, who bats at number eight, to get the job done and it's a luxury to have him batting at number eight, but insisted that it's not the all-rounder's job to do it every game.
Australia remain favourites to win this World Cup, and certainly on their day, they're an unstoppable force, the report added.
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