’Good thinker’: Smith’s captaincy masterstrokes as ‘cranky’ persona fades in Ashes skipper re-birth

Steve Smith was the first person to arrive at the SCG nets on Monday morning, of course.

Donning his sky blue New South Wales kit, the 36-year-old rested a pair of New Balance bats against the back of the stumps and took guard, receiving throw-downs from Blues assistant coach Nick Larkin.

At the non-striker’s end, an adoring Sam Konstas watched on, occasionally swaying out of the way like a dodgeballer to avoid Smith’s powerful straight drives.

Eventually, Smith thumped a half-volley back down the pitch before barking “thank you” and promptly returning to the sheds. He didn’t say anything else during the brief net session.

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After returning from a brief holiday in New York last month, Smith was named Australia’s captain for the upcoming Ashes opener in Perth, replacing the wounded Pat Cummins, before cracking a Sheffield Shield century against Queensland at the Gabba.

In preparation for the first Test against England, Smith has been tasked with leading NSW for this week’s red-ball clash against Victoria at the SCG, taking charge of a bowling attack that featured national teammates Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.

Smith has captained the trio on multiple occasions over the past decade, even leading Australia during this year’s Test tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy, but the Shield contest provided an opportunity for him to brush up on his tactical nous ahead of a blockbuster summer, where he may be required to don the green blazer on more than one occasion.

Smith’s first task as Blues captain was the coin toss, which didn’t go to plan; the coin got no elevation, slipping from his thumb onto the turf without any rotations. He offered to try again, but Victorian skipper Will Sutherland was content with batting first.

It proved a poor toss to lose – the pitch was flat and didn’t provide any deviations for the bowlers to exploit.

“You can’t judge a wicket until both sides have batted on it,” Starc told reporters at stumps.

“But it’s a pretty docile wicket.”

Dubbed Captain Grumpy at the start of his captaincy tenure, Smith is much more relaxed figure in the middle nowadays; standing at second slip with arms crossed, he occasionally cracked a joke with his teammates, rarely speaking in team huddles, while he even applauded rival opener Harry Dixon after he pumped Starc down the ground for a commanding boundary.

“I think I’ve chilled out a lot over the last four or five years,” Smith laughed while talking to reporters last month.

“I’m a bit more relaxed out in the middle and maybe not as cranky at times.”

Starc agreed: “He’s probably a more relaxed character when he’s had to come in as captain again.”

Smith’s first tactical masterstroke arrived within the first hour, bringing Lyon into the attack in the 14th over and putting Konstas at silly mid-on. The off-spinner struck on his fifth delivery, with Konstas taking a smart catch under the lid to remove the experienced Marcus Harris for 5.

Job done, Lyon was immediately taken out of the attack.

Following the lunch break, Smith encouraged Starc to bombard Victorian opener Campbell Kellaway with a flurry of bouncers, putting in a leg slip. The ploy worked, to an extent, with the left-hander strangled down the leg side, caught by wicketkeeper Josh Philippe.

“He’s obviously a really good thinker of the game, trying different things on a wicket they didn’t offer too much,” Starc said of Smith.

Dudded by the lifeless deck and softening Kookaburra, New South Wales persisted with the bouncer ploy throughout the afternoon session, Starc being the chief enforcer. Victorian batters were ducking and weaving as the tall left-armer peppered the middle of the pitch, with seven fielders positioned behind square at one stage.

It was a ferocious six-over spell from Starc, who at one stage struck Kellaway on the finger, forcing a lengthy medical delay.

“That was quality bowling,” Victorian batter Peter Handscomb told reporters at stumps.

“Starc fired up a bit there and got the ball whizzing through.

“With the summer of cricket coming up, it’s exciting to see.”

Starc returned for another burst in the evening session, but Victorian wicketkeeper Sam Harper was up to the task, flat-batting four consecutive boundaries in the 53rd over, including a pair of massive sixes. But Starc won the battle, with Harper top-edging a pull shot towards deep square leg for a 40-ball 54.

“I thought I was playing BBL,” Starc laughed.

“A few lob-ups there, but he’s taken it on – maybe one too many.”

Harper’s brief assault offered a glimpse of what the Australians can expect from England’s batters this summer. Smith, a renowned problem-solver, will no doubt be eager for the challenge of taming Bazball.

Asked about the looming threat from England’s aggressive batters, Starc replied: “No doubt. Especially if they’re pretty docile wickets like this.

“We know the way they’re trying to play their cricket, but we’ll worry about it when we come to it.”

Starc finished the day with 4-91 from 18 overs, conceding 5.06 runs per over.

“That’s been my role, to try to bowl fast and be a little bit aggressive,” he said.

“A bit on the expensive side, but I’m never going to be an economy bowler.”

In a late roll of the dice, Smith threw the ball to Lyon for one final over from the Paddington End, rather than giving Josh Hazlewood another six balls with the new, shiny Kookaburra – and the gamble paid dividends, with the veteran spinner knocking over centurion Handscomb for 104.

“Happy with that (innings), nice to come out here and face such a quality attack,” Handscomb said.

“To score runs is always nice, but to do it against those boys was special for me.”

With Victoria 7-340 at stumps, Smith will almost certainly be required to bat on Tuesday, coming up against the likes of Scott Boland, Fergus O’Neill and Todd Murphy for some valuable time in the middle ahead of the Ashes. As he acknowledged recently, he boasts a phenomenal record with the bat when serving as captain, a trend that he hopes continues during the Test summer.

“It’s interesting how the brain works, I think my record when I’m captain is probably better than it is when I’m not,” Smith said.

“I feel like I go to another level and try and set a standard, I suppose.”

The Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria resumes on Tuesday at 10.30am AEDT.

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