Australia got a glimpse at life without Steve Smith. It wasn't pretty

Sydney Morning Herald

9 hours ago

It's no coincidence that Australia's hiding by South Africa in Cairns was their first ODI since the retirement of Steve Smith.
In conditions that were momentarily tricky against the wily left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj, Australia showed absolutely no ability to adapt to a newish ball spinning off a tacky surface, when they needed only to get through four or so overs for the drop and bite to diminish.
That adaptability and thought were hallmarks of Smith's ODI career, finding ways to work with the ebb and flow of a 50-over game to make the runs required.
Last time Australia played games up in Cairns, a 3-0 thumping of New Zealand in 2022, Smith was a star on a series of similarly testy surfaces, scoring his runs at a relatively sedate pace but playing the situation with mastery.
But without him this time, after Smith elected to hang up his one-day kit and go play in the Hundred in England instead, the batting line-up looked dispiritingly gullible when pitted against Maharaj. He spun a web as thick as that conjured up by Shane Warne against South Africa in a famous World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston in 1999.
Marnus Labuschagne, ostensibly there to take Smith's role, misread the length and was beaten by turn to be lbw, the 14th occasion on which a left-arm spinner had got him in an ODI. Cameron Green was similarly outfoxed to lose his off stump, and Josh Inglis – a noted player of spin – was nowhere to a quicker delivery that skidded through.
Alex Carey's first-ball sweep was misjudged, and Aaron Hardie contrived for a near action replay of Green's dismissal. Maharaj's spell of destruction reduced the Australians to 6-89, having been 0-60 just nine overs before.
That captain Mitchell Marsh and number eight Ben Dwarshuis were then able to play Maharaj with few dramas, in a game-prolonging stand of 71, only enhanced the sense of worry about what had just transpired.