Andrew McDonald makes it clear Smith 'does not have weakness' against short ball

Australian assistant coach Andrew McDonald on Sunday said that Steve Smith does not have a weakness against the short ball and he will have no problem if Indian bowlers resort to bowling bouncers at him. The Indian pacers will be hoping to trouble the former Aussie skipper with the short ball and bouncers on the bouncy wickets Down Under.

'I don't think it's actually a weakness': Andrew McDonald 

"I don't think it's (short-ball) actually a weakness. I think they're taking a shot at that area to get him out early and then what you'll see after that initial potential plan, they will go to a more standard plan to try and negate the runs," ESPNCricinfo quoted Mcdonald as saying.

"I think they've used it before and as I've said he's done well before so I'm suggesting that plan hasn't necessarily worked to its full effect. I know in the Test match he had that moment with Archer where it got him but in terms of coming back off that he was able to score runs. Even in one-day cricket, he was able to score and in T20 cricket he's been able to score runs with that plan being adopted by opponents. I don't necessarily see it as a weakness but they can keep approaching that way if they want," he added.

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Can the Indian bowlers keep Steve Smith quiet?

Smith is arguably the best Test batsman of this generation and is currently the top-ranked batsman in red-ball cricket. He is known for his unorthodox but effective style of batting. The elegant batsman has succeeded in finding his form ever since his return to the game after that infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March 2018 that shocked the cricket world.

Nonetheless, he made a huge statement on his comeback where he scored over 700 runs in Ashes 2019 in England where he had received a hostile reception from the English crowd. At the same time, he also dethroned Indian skipper Virat Kohli to achieve the 'Numero Uno' spot in ICC Test Rankings.

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(Image Courtesy:  AP)

(With ANI Inputs)