"He's one of the best batters in the world": Justin Greaves hails Steve Smith for his fifty in Grenada test
On a surface of variable bounce, Steve Smith stood class apart, hitting an excellent 71 off 119 balls.
'He's one of the best batters in the world for a reason, but we always knew that he was going to come, and he was always going to be positive,' West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves said, as quoted from ICC.
'We didn't start our best at him, but Steve is Steve, he just at a really good innings.'
Giving good support to Smith was Australia's number three, Cameron Green, who overcame indifferent recent form (48 runs from five innings) to score a fighting 52.
'I don't think I ever felt comfortable out there. I think last night was tricky with the new ball, and had to start all over again, and then there were a few ball changes. I never really felt at any point that it was that good,' Cameron Green said.
Green, however, lauded Smith, with whom he shared a 93-run partnership.
'You'd probably ask a different question to Steve, he was batting on a different wicket,' he added.
When questioned about how West Indies would approach the Test, Justin Greaves stated that despite the Green-Smith vigil, the hosts remained positive.
'For us try and keep Australia under 300 (on Day 4), that is one of our main goals,' Justin Greaves said.
On their batting approach for the chase, Greaves hoped that the West Indies batters could follow a methodology similar to Australia's middle-order batters.
'As a batting group we need to be positive when we go out to bat. Probably take some notes from Travis Head, Beau Webster or Alex Carey on just having that positive mindset,' he added.
Half-centuries from Alex Carey and Beau Webster helped Australia reach 286 in their first innings. Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph and Justin Greaves took two wickets apiece.
West Indies was bowled out for 253 and conceded a lead of 33 runs. Brendon King scored 75 runs.
For Australia, Nathan Lyon was the pick of the bowlers and took three wickets. Captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood took two wickets each. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Stokes hints at Jofra Archer's return for Lord's Test against India
Birmingham [UK], July 7 (ANI): After England's heavy 336-run defeat to India, captain Ben Stokes hinted at the possibility of Jofra Archer returning to the Test XI for the second match at Lord's, but stressed that the decision will depend on how players recover ahead of the game. 'Again, it will be a decision that we have to make seeing how everyone pulls up. We've had him here this week to get around the group and build him up with his workloads and everything like that. So everyone's in consideration for the game at Lord's,' said Stokes at the post-match press conference. The 30-year-old speedster recently made his long-awaited return to red-ball cricket after more than four years, representing Sussex in a County Championship match against Durham at Chester-le-Street. He bowled a tidy spell, returning figures of 1/32 from 18 overs, and also contributed 31 runs with the bat, showing signs of form and fitness as the match ended in a draw. Archer last played a Test match in February 2021, and has since battled multiple injuries. While he made a return to England's white-ball setup ahead of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has featured in ODIs and T20Is, his red-ball workload has been carefully managed. Archer's pace and aggression could be a valuable asset at Lord's, but Stokes and the management remain cautious. Archer's availability will be closely monitored over the next few days, as England seek the right combination to square the series. Coming to the match, England once again opted to field first. After getting KL Rahul (2) early, a 80-run stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal (87 in 107 balls, with 13 fours) and Karun Nair (31 in 50 balls, with five fours) helped India gain some footing in the match. Skipper Shubman Gill had valuable partnerships of 203 runs with Ravindra Jadeja (89 in 137 balls, with 10 fours and a six) and a 144-run stand against Washington Sundar (42 in 103 balls, with three fours and a six), helping India towards 587, scoring 269 in 387 balls himself, with 30 fours and three sixes. Shoaib Bashir (3/167) was the pick of the bowlers for England, while Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue also managed two each. In England's first innings, India had them on the ropes with 84/5. However, a 303-run stand between Harry Brook (158 in 234 balls, with 17 fours and a six) and wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith (184* in 207 balls, with 21 fours and four sixes) sent India on an endless hunt for leather and answers. However, Siraj (6/70) and Akash Deep (4/88) got something out of the new ball and tumbled down the last five wickets for 20 runs, bundling them down for 407 runs, gaining a 180-run lead. India's response was a swift half-century partnership between Jaiswal (28 in 22 balls, with six fours) and KL Rahul, who also continued his good run with a 10-boundary-filled 55 in 84 balls. A 110-run stand for the fourth wicket between Rishabh Pant (65 in 58 balls, with eight fours and three sixes) and Gill upped the attack, while Gill managed yet another epic 175-run stand with Jadeja, scoring 161 in 162 balls, with 13 fours and eight sixes. Jadeja scored an unbeaten 69* in 118 balls, with five fours and a six. India declared at 427/6, leading by 607 runs and setting England a monstrous 608 runs to win. During the run-chase, England was restricted to 50/3. Jamie Smith (88 in 99, with nine fours and four sixes) was the only glimmer of hope for England as they were skittled out for just 271 runs, losing by 336 runs, thanks to a brilliant spell from Akash Deep (6/99), who ended up taking a ten-fer. (ANI)
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
India's historic win at Edgbaston: Gill hails Akash Deep's spell as turning point
Birmingham [UK], July 7 (ANI): India's captain Shubman Gill lauded Akash Deep's performance after they thrashed England by 336 runs in the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, levelling the five-match series 1-1 and securing a historic first-ever Test win at the iconic venue. At the post-match press conference, Gill pointed to Akash Deep's fiery spell on Day 4, as he dismissed England batters Ben Duckett and Joe Root. 'Yesterday, I think, getting through the top order is never easy,' Gill said. 'The spell of Akash Deep, how he got those two wickets, kind of gave the confidence to everyone that we can win this Test match and when he came in this morning with the ball hitting the cracks, yes, the ball was seaming, the odd ball seaming, that's what really instilled the confidence in all of the players that, yes, we can do it,' he added. Akash Deep returned with phenomenal match figures of 10/187 (4/88 and 6/99), breaking Chetan Sharma's long-standing record (10/188) of the best bowling figures by an Indian in a Test match in England. Another tactical masterstroke that paid dividends for India was the selection of Washington Sundar over Kuldeep Yadav, a move that raised eyebrows before the match. Gill addressed the decision, highlighting the need for batting depth and control in spinning conditions. 'It is very tempting when you have a bowler like Kuldeep. One of the reasons why I wanted to play Washington was because he gives us batting depth,' said Gill. 'In the first innings, I think the partnership between me and Washington, if it wasn't for that partnership, then our lead would have been 70-80-90 runs, which is psychologically very different from 180,' he noted. Washington Sundar contributed a vital 42 runs in the first innings and later dismissed Ben Stokes in the second innings, underlining his all-round value. Gill elaborated on the team's strategy behind selecting a finger spinner. 'Even on the 5th day, the ball was not moving that much from the middle, it was just moving through the roughness. We thought that maybe if our first batting comes, then maybe on a 5th day wicket, the finger spinner will give us more control if the ball is moving from the wicket and especially on such wickets, sometimes more than fast bowling, the spin gives you more control,' Gill explained. Looking ahead to the third Test at Lord's, the Indian captain remained open to reassessing the bowling combination. 'So that was our mindset, but now we will see what kind of wicket they are giving at Lord's,' he added. (ANI)
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
MS Dhoni turns 44: A look at magnificent career, accomplishments, records of 'Thala'
New Delhi [India], July 7 (ANI): 'Thala', skipper, icon, legend, trophy collector, ICC Hall of Famer. A man with every trophy he could possibly have, commanding respect and adoration worldwide, legendary World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni turned 44 on Monday. Rated highly for his calmness under pressure which would make most crumble helplessly, and his tactical excellence, Dhoni, since his international debut in 2004 till now, during these last few years of his career with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has made a name for himself as one of India's most beloved sons, who has given back to his country and city of Ranchi, everything it could have asked him for. With 17,266 international runs, 829 dismissals and 538 matches across formats for India, Dhoni is not only amongst the world's greatest players but also a revolutionary. Besides Australia's Adam Gilchrist, he was among the first wicketkeeper-batters who showed the world that keepers could bat really well. At a time when the bare minimum of catching and stumping was required out of a wicketkeeper, Dhoni pushed the envelope further, contributing runs with the consistency and hunger of a top-order batting giant. He formed a formidable middle-order with Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. Dhoni's strongest format is the ODIs. In 350 ODIs, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He scored 10 centuries and 73 fifties for India, with the best score of 183*. He is India's sixth-highest scorer in ODIs (with Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 18,426 runs). The fact that he managed to score 10,000-plus runs at an average of over 50 while coming down the order makes his statistics even more astonishing. He led India in 200 ODI matches, winning 110, losing 74. Five games were tied, while 11 failed to produce a result. He has a winning percentage of 55. Dhoni has won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013 for India as a skipper. Dhoni, known as Chennai Super Kings' 'Thala' (leader), played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56. He was the winning captain of India's ICC T20 WC 2007 winning team. 'Mahi' led India in 72 T20Is, winning 41, losing 28, one being tied and two failing to produce results. His win percentage is 56.94. Coming to his long-format career, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He scored six centuries and 33 half-centuries, with the best score of 224. He is the 14th-highest scorer for India in Tests. As a captain, he led India in 60 Test matches, out of which they won 27 matches, lost 18 and drew 15. With a win percentage of 45.00, he is one of India's most successful skippers across all eras. He led Team India to the number one ranking in the ICC Test Rankings. He is also the only Indian skipper to whitewash Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, doing so in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 series. Dhoni is just as reputable in franchise cricket, being the sixth-highest run-getter in IPL history, with 5,439 runs in 278 matches at an average of 38.30, including 24 fifties, at a strike rate of over 137. He has secured five IPL titles and two Champions League T20 titles with CSK, making the franchise one of the most popular entities in the sporting world, largely on the basis of his own brand and name. Crowds follow and different fan clubs chant 'Dhoni' 'Dhoni' in unison when the batting legend makes even as much as an appearance inside his dressing room, gearing up for a possible chance at batting. When Dhoni broke into the national team in 2004, nobody could have imagined the heights the then-23-year-old would go on to achieve as a wicketkeeper-batter. His quickfire stumping and catching abilities, massive sixes, and the trademark helicopter shot will no doubt stay fan favourites for generations to come. (ANI)
