Smith bides time for Australian chance

SYDNEY - Australia’s new leg-spinning hope Steve Smith says that he is biding his time for a permanent national squad berth, knowing that sooner or later he will make the grade.

Smith knows of the need to deliver in a style substantially removed from the Australian slow bowling tradition on sub-continental pitches.

Experience for NSW in last year’s Twenty20 Champions League, plus numerous turn-outs for Centre of Excellence touring sides, will aid Smith’s quest for the right pace both on this tour and in the future.

“It’s a little bit different (to Australia),” he said.

“For me personally I need to identify how the wicket’s playing, how fast or slow it is. It’s something big for me to identify that and identify the pace I need to bowl from there,” the Sydney Morning herald quoted Smith, as saying.

“Bowling over here a couple of times you bowl into the wickets a bit more … it sort of sticks into the wicket a little more and turns out of there. So it’s a little bit different and takes some getting used to,” he added.

“I’d like to become a genuine all rounder down the track so scoring runs whenever I can is going to be good for me to get my best foot forward … something I want to do is bat in the top six at some point. But at the moment it’s probably going to be my spin that’ll give me a game,” Smith said. (ANI)