• Home
  • Who Said What
  • He Knows Batting Steve Smith Defends Coach After Legends Regressive Criticism

"He Knows Batting Inside Out": Steve Smith Defends Coach After Legend's Harsh Criticism

Soumyajit Dutta

Steve Smith [Source: @cricketcomau/X.com]Steve Smith [Source: @cricketcomau/X.com]

Steve Smith has robustly defended Australian batting coach Michael Di Venuto following criticism from former wicketkeeper Ian Healy. Healy suggested Australia had "regressed in performance" under Di Venuto after the new-look top order struggled in the first Test win over West Indies, failing to register a single half-century across both innings.

Steve Smith Knocks Healy's Criticism Flat

Ahead of the second Test, Steve Smith shifted responsibility firmly onto the batter themselves, dismissing Healy's claims about Di Venuto.

“(Di Venuto’s) not the one out there actually doing the batting. Guys have to be able to figure it out themselves out in the middle sometimes. You can’t have someone holding your hand out there. He works as hard as anyone. He knows batting inside out. He’s seen cricket all around the world, and knows all the conditions. He’s done a wonderful job for a long time now, and the boys really enjoyed working with him," Smith told reporters in an interview with SEN, as quoted by News18.

Steve Smith Gives Update On His 'Disgusting' Injury

Smith is set to return for the second Test in Grenada, reclaiming the number four spot from Josh Inglis after recovering from a little-finger injury sustained during the World Test Championship final. He recalled the gruesome moment, "I looked straight down and I was like, ‘That doesn’t look right. That looks pretty disgusting.’ I wasn’t sure of the extent of the damage."

His recovery included an unconventional session. “My mate actually told me about it — underneath this bridge, [in New York] there was a batting cage, and he was able to throw me a few balls there. It was nice to hit a few balls."

Smith Gives Update On His Fielding Prowess

While his batting return is welcome, Smith expressed concern about his fielding capabilities with the healing finger, particularly about moving away from the slips cordon. 

“It’ll be just training as normal, and then probably fielding some balls in front of the wicket, which would probably be the strangest thing for me. I don’t think I’ve ever done that in a Test match."

With Australia already one up in the series, they will be confident taking on West Indies for the second Test starting from July 3.