In Pics: Steve Smith's struggle as opening batter in Tests

Steve Smith's struggles as an opener

Star Australian batter Steve Smith has not been having best of the times as an opening batter, as his downward slump continued during the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

Smith's performance in WTC Cycle

Smith's lean run that started during the start of the new ICC World Test Championship cycle continued.

Opener Steve Smith's record

Ever since opening, Smith has registered scores of 12, 11*, 6, 91*, 31 and 0, which equals to 151 runs in six innings at an average of 37.75.

Smith in the current WTC cycle

In 11 Tests under the new WTC cycle, Smith has scored just 718 runs across 22 innings at an average of 37.78, with just a century and four fifties. His best score is 110.

Smith's decline in stats

During this period, Smith's strike rate (50.42) and average (57.52) has taken a hit as well.

Steve Smith's peak years

The 34-year-old batter's peak years was from 2014 to 2019. He scored 6,194 runs in just 56 Tests and 99 innings at an average of 72.02, with 24 centuries and 23 fifties.

Smith's recent numbers

Since January 1, 2020, Smith's Test numbers have declined sharply, scoring 2,501 runs in 36 Tests at an average of 46.31, with six centuries and 13 fifties in 63 innings.

Smith's last big performance

Smith's average has gone down drastically since the Ashes of 2019, which is arguably the last time he had an all-time great campaign during a big tournament/series.

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