'My role is a little bit different from what I've played previously' - Steve Smith happy to play anchor's role in T20 WC

Australia is all set to lock horns with Sri Lanka for their upcoming fixture of the T20 World Cup. Ahead of the match, Steve Smith has opened up on his batting position. He has asserted that he is willing to change his batting order in order to meet the requirements of the side.

The challenging and slow pitches of the UAE have made it a tad bit difficult to score runs. The power hitters have found it tricky to get going from ball one. Thus, Smith who usually bats at number three for Australia has stated that he is aware of the asks of the situation. The batter also added that he won’t mind batting down the order if the team is in need of that.

“(My role is) a little bit different from what I’ve played previously. My job is just to fix it if our top order doesn’t come off and build a partnership with whoever I’m in with at that stage. If our top order does go well, the likelihood is that I’ll slide down the order and let our big strong boys attack it. That’s essentially my role. I think I’ve done it reasonably well in the first couple of trial games and our first game against South Africa.

“I know what I need to do, the rest of the team knows my role, we’re all very clear on the way we all want to play. That clarity is there, it’s just about us all going and doing it,” Smith was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

You have to adapt to what’s required on that surface: Steve Smith

In the matches of the Super 12s so far, one has witnessed a variety of outcomes. West Indies and Scotland were dismissed for 55 and 60 respectively whereas the contest between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka was a relatively high-scoring match. Pakistan also chased down the total against India with no loss of wickets. Smith shed light on the playing conditions of the UAE and said that one has to adapt to it.

“Throughout the IPL, playing on these wickets, there was a lot of really scrappy cricket, not huge scores which made the games pretty interesting and quite close. It’s slightly different from a lot of T20 cricket you would play. Quite often you would see flat wickets and big scores and guys going about their business. You have to change slight(ly the) ways you have to play and adapt to what’s required on that surface,” Smith added.