A proud Steve Smith has felt he has returned to his brilliant best after producing a game winning 80 off 78 balls in Australia's win over England in the first of three ODI games.
Coming to the crease on the back of an excellent partnership at the top from David Warner and Travis Head, Smith was composed throughout his knock, and said it was better than he has felt at the crease in a long time.
Smith has been in and out of the T20 side early this summer, while the amount of runs he has scored across all three formats has wavered dramatically.
“(It) was probably the best I've felt in about six years,” Smith told reporters after the game.
“It's been nice to score some runs in that time and we're always looking for perfection, and for me (Thursday) was close to perfection as I will get.”
Smith often labelled a perfectionist has come under some criticism for a run of underwhelming innings for his standard. Smith credits his performance to his long-term process of refining and rediscovering his best technique.
“I've been working on a few things, it's almost been a six-month or 12-month process,” Smith said.
“I feel like I'm staying a bit more side-on now and I've got my feet and hands in sync together.”
Commentators covering the game noticed and compared the changed style of Smith from previous years. In the past, highlighted was his significant back and across step, with his newly adopted style having much less fidgeting and foot movement.
“Hopefully it's a start of a big summer.” Smith said.
The timing of this new style and its success falls nicely before a big summer of cricket for the Australian team. Australia have upcoming fixtures against the West Indies, South Africa over New Year, India for the Border-Gavaskar trophy, and the Ashes in June.
