Michael Clarke's stunning call as Steve Smith firms for David Warner's opening spot
Smith is set to win the race to become Usman Khawaja's new opening partner in the Aussie Test team.
Michael Clarke says Steve Smith will be the No.1 opener in world cricket in 12 months' time if he is elevated up the order in the Australian Test team. According to reports, Smith is set to open the batting in the first Test against the West Indies next week, with Cameron Green winning a recall to bat in the middle order.
It means specialist openers Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw are all set to be snubbed in favour of someone with little experience at the top of the order. Aussie selectors have seemed keen to get Green back into the side after he lost his place in the middle order to Mitch Marsh during the Ashes last year.
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And Smith emerged as a last-minute option last week before stating that he would love a new challenge to open the batting. According to multiple reports, selectors have opted to go with Smith as Usman Khawaja's new opening partner.
Discussing the situation on Monday, former Test captain Clarke said he had no doubts Smith would thrive as an opener. "If he wants to open the batting and they give him the chance, he will be the No.1 Test opener within 12 months," he said on ESPN. "He is that good a player. He is technically good enough, he lets the ball go well, he's got a great eye, he's got beautiful hands.
"Yes, he might nick the occasional one, he might get lbw but tell me someone that doesn't. He is that good a player, and maybe it is the challenge he is looking for."
Clarke also made the staggering call that Brain Lara's world record score of 400 would be in danger if Smith was to open. "Smith doesn't want to wait. He doesn't want Warner or Khawaja to make a hundred, or Marnus to make a double hundred," he added.
"He wants to make a double hundred. So if he open the batting, he will be the best opener within 12 months and the other thing, don't be surprised if he breaks Brian Lara's 400 record. Because he is that good and he's got the whole day."
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Moving Smith to the top of the order would go against the wishes of Ricky Ponting, who said it would be a 'disaster' to break up the successful middle order of Labuschagne, Smith, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh. Ponting has declared that selectors should pick a specialist opener in the strongest form, endorsing Bancroft for the role.
The West Australian has been the leading run-scorer in the past two Sheffield Shield seasons. But there appears to be a reluctance to pick him considering explosive comments he made previously - suggesting the Aussie bowling quarter of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood had knowledge of the ball-tampering scandal of 2018. Awkwardly, all four bowlers are still in the Test team, and Bancroft's West Australian counterpart Justin Langer is no longer the coach.
Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald have both indicated they want as little disruption to the batting order as possible, meaning Green might be given his familiar No.4 spot in the order - where he bats for Western Australia. "(Steve) had some strong thoughts, he's made those public. So we'll consider all options," McDonald said last weekend.
"It's nice to have him putting his hand up. I think there were a few others that weren't putting their hand up. But Steve at No.3 or No.4 is pretty appetising also. You've got to make sure you're not removing the strengths of the team in the search to fill a gap also. So there's a balance within that."
with AAP
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