Steve Smith chosen to replace David Warner as Test opener

Several names had been touted in the buildup to Warner's swansong against Pakistan as his successor, but Smith – one of the most prolific middle-order batters of the modern era – will openwith Usman Khawaja against West Indies

Nick Friend | 10/01/2024 at 11:11

Steve Smith will open the batting for the first time in his first-class career when he replaces David Warner at the top of Australia's Test lineup.

Several names had been touted in the buildup to Warner's swansong against Pakistan as his successor, but Smith's came late on – and from leftfield.

The expectation was that seasoned openers – and Sheffield Shield regulars – Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw would fight it out, while Cameron Green's name entered the frame once Mitchell Marsh usurped him as the middle-order allrounder, with Australia keen to find a spot for the 24-year-old.

It is anticipated that Green will slot in at No.4.

Warner himself pushed the case of Harris, a fellow left-hander and for a long time his de facto understudy. Bancroft, meanwhile, has hammered the door down in domestic cricket.

But Smith threw his hat into the ring last week, declaring: "I'm actually happy to go up the top. I'm pretty keen if that's what they want to do."

Pat Cummins initially appeared to wave away that offer. "Obviously, Marnus (Labuschagne), Smudge (Smith), Trav (Head) and (Mitchell) Marsh have been pretty impressive at No.3, 4, 5 and 6," he said. "So first instinct isn't probably to disrupt that."

Renshaw and Green have both been included in the Test squad to face West Indies, but it has been confirmed that Smith – for the first time, in his 168th first-class appearance – and Usman Khawaja will open up.

smith100101

^{The baton has been passed... (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)}

"There were plenty within the team who were pretty keen to go on record and say that they weren't keen to do it," said George Bailey, Australia's lead selector. "So, it was refreshing that Steve had come forward and said he wanted it.

"It was something that we'd been chatting about in the background as a selection panel with the coaches as well.

"It's selfless that someone who's had such success in one position or a couple of positions in the middle order is open and willing and hungry to go and have a crack at something new and something different."

It is the latest shift in a remarkable career of a player who began as a leg-spinner and lower-order batter, before transforming into one of the most prolific Test batters of the modern era. He is currently 486 runs short of 10,000 in Test cricket, averaging 58.01.

He hasn't even batted in Australia's top three, though, since 2017, though he averaged 67.07 in doing so.

Bailey also stressed that Bancroft's omission was not linked to any continued fallout over the sandpaper scandal.