Steve Smith Hits Back At Aussie Legend Over Batting Coach Criticism: 'Not One...'
Steve Smith has hit back at Ian Healy over his criticism of Australia batting coach Michael Di Venuto.
Steve Smith gave a stern reply to Australia legend Ian Healy for his criticism of the Test batting coach Michael Di Venuto for the team's top-order collapses on Monday (June 30). Smith said that Di Venuto has been 'wonderful' for the team, shifting the blame to the batters, saying nobody can 'hold their hand' on the pitch.
Healy, in an interview with SEN, said Australia had 'regressed in performance' under the tutelage of his 'good friend' Di Venuto and demanded that the batting coach take some 'pressure' over it. He was speaking after Australia's 159-run win over the West Indies in the first of the ongoing three-match series, where a new-look top-four couldn't manage a single half-century across the two innings.
'(Di Venuto's) not the one out there actually doing the batting," Smith told reporters ahead of the second Test. 'Guys have to be able to figure it out themselves out in the middle sometimes. You can't have someone holding your hand out there. He works as hard as anyone. He knows batting inside out. He's seen cricket all around the world, and knows all the conditions. He's done a wonderful job for a long time now, and the boys really enjoyed working with him," he added.
Australia had Josh Inglis batting at number four in place of Smith for the match, with Sam Konstas returning at the top alongside Usman Khawaja. Cameron Green played number three for the second time, too, leaving Khawaja as the only one with more than five Tests of experience at the position.
Smith's unique recovery and fielding worries
Smith is now set to return for the second match, and as coach Andrew McDonald has already confirmed, he'll take the number four spot back. He has recovered from his little-finger injury suffered while fielding during the 2025 World Test Championship final against South Africa.
'I looked straight down and I was like, 'That doesn't look right. That looks pretty disgusting.' I wasn't sure of the extent of the damage," Smith recalled about his injury.
Smith underwent recovery in New York, but it was far from normal.
'My mate actually told me about it — underneath this bridge, there was a batting cage, and he was able to throw me a few balls there. It was nice to hit a few balls," Smith added.
More than his batting, the right-hander is worried about not being able to field close-in on the slips anymore.
'It'll be just training as normal, and then probably fielding some balls in front of the wicket, which would probably be the strangest thing for me. I don't think I've ever done that in a Test match," he added.
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June 30, 2025, 09:49 IST
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