Steve Smith should be promoted to open for Australia in white-ball cricket: Ian Healy

Former Australia legend Ian Healy has urged the Cricket Australia selectors to consider Steve Smith as an opener in the white ball format considering his Big Bash League performance. Steve Smith has scored 328 runs in four innings playing for Sydney Sixers. In four innings Smith has two centuries and a half century to his name. 

Ian Healy believes that it is very hard to beat Smith’s credentials as an opener and also with Aaron Finch and David Warner out of form Smith’s presence as opener becomes quite important. 

'Definitely, how could you not' 

In a conversation with Sportsday NSW Healy said, "Definitely, how could you not? Who opened with (David) Warner in the T20 World Cup? It was Finchy (Aaron Finch) who was captain. Both Warner and Finch aren't playing anywhere near as well as Smith, so he overtakes both of those in my eyes with the way he's batting now” 

Healy also urged the selectors to consider Smith for the ODI World Cup 2023 going to be held in India. 

"We don't play many international T20s so hopefully he's doing this (scoring big in BBL) in the lead-up to the next World Cup. Even in the 50-over game I'd be opening with him as well”, Healy said. 

Healy said that only a few batsmen in the Australian side can match Smith’s technique. 

"I feel like it's a privilege watching him. When he gets out, seeing how hard the others are doing it, the discrepancy between him and the rest is unbelievable, it's very Bradman-like.”

"He's just doing it so easily and how he's done it, he'd have a technical idea of what he's doing -- he’s talking grip and everything like that, but I like his feet, his feet are still and his head is still", Healy added. 

"When he played at his best maybe three years ago or four years ago, he was walking all over the place but when the bowler delivered the ball he was dead still, and his feet were set", Healy added. 

"He's finding the middle of the bat incredibly often and it feels like a privilege watching him play like this, he wasn't doing it six months ago", Healy added.