Steve Smith is considering French Cricket Approach

A lot has been speculated over the nature of the pitch in Ranchi in the past few days. The Australian captain Steve Smith followed suit and went on to say that if the pitch in Ranchi demands, he won’t be afraid of going and opting for a ‘French Cricket approach’ to survive on the field.

Smith, who wasn’t successful in the second Test said, “It was just so difficult to score (in Bangalore), against the quicks in particular. I was always afraid of the one shooting low like in the second innings (when Smith was trapped lbw by an unplayable delivery that hardly bounced. It was about trying to almost play French cricket. If the ball was on my stumps, try and cover that as well as I could.”

He also praised the Indian bowlers, saying their lines and lengths were amazing.

“It (not scoring) was a credit to the Indian quicks, I thought they bowled very well. Their line and lengths were spectacular really throughout the whole match.”, he added.

Speaking about his expectations from Ranchi, Smith said that the surface is expected to be slow and low, without the bounce which we saw in the second Test. He said he had never seen a wicket that looked quite as dark as the Ranchi one is. “Guys just have to adapt and play according to what the wicket entails. It’s about summing up the best way to play and try and get as many runs as we can to build the first innings”, he stated.

Meanwhile, he also praised pacer Pat Cummins (who will be making a comeback) and expects him to trouble India’s batsmen with his fast as lightening pace. “He’s got some good variations. Watching him bowl yesterday, he bowled these cutters on the wicket and they were actually ragging,” Smith said.