Australia vice-captain Steve Smith believes the Indian bowling attack is a good one despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and added that his batters will have to play well against them in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final starting at The Oval from June 7.
“They have got a good mix of quality seam bowlers, with Shami and Siraj probably their two main guys. They have really good skills and the Dukes’ ball will suit them nicely.”
“And then obviously their spinners as well, who bowl well in all conditions. So I think they have a good attack and we are going to have to play well against them this week,” said Smith in a press conference at The Oval.
With fast bowler Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the WTC Final due to his ongoing left Achilles and left-side issue, Australia have to make a decision between Scott Boland and Michael Neser to pick in their playing eleven.
Smith feels Neser has all the skills to make a big impact if picked in the playing eleven. Neser has scored 311 runs and taken 19 wickets, with scores of 123, 86 and 90 so far being a standout from his time in the ongoing county championship with Glamorgan.
“(I’ve got) so much faith, he is a quality performer. I faced him against (County side) Glamorgan a couple of weeks ago and he bowled beautifully. He has got great skills and he’s added some of the inswingers we have seen him bowl when the wicket is a bit flatter.”
“So he has got loads of skills and is batting nicely as well, so he is a great package. If he gets an opportunity he will certainly do a very good job,” he added.
On the other hand, Boland’s pace, control and probing length would make him a threat on pitches at England. But he has played just one Test away from home, against India at Nagpur earlier this year and is yet to take a wicket outside home in the format.
“I think we will get what Scotty does pretty well. He hits a good length, hits the top of the stumps, seams the ball around, swings it if he wants to and he has got great skills as well. No doubt he will be a challenge if he gets the nod,” stated Smith.
Smith refused to give any clarity on his future in Test cricket, especially after veteran David Warner said next year’s match against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground will be an ideal finish to his career in the longest format of the game.
“It’s nice to have an end date I suppose, if that’s the way you want to go, but ultimately for all of us we’ve got to be doing our job and that’s scoring runs. That’s all of our jobs. In an ideal world, I think David said that’s when he’d like to finish up, but you’ve got to score runs, all of us, so we’ll just see what happens,” he concluded.
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