AUS vs WI 1st Test: Australian opener Steve Smith to take centre stage

Australia’s Steve Smith during a training session at Adelaide Oval yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

If the last Test against Pakistan was all about David Warner's pending retirement, the series-opener against West Indies centres around newly-promoted opener Steve Smith.

And Smith, true to his technical, analytical self, has dared the Caribbean attack to waste the new ball by bowling short-pitched deliveries to him.

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Smith volunteered and was elevated from No. 4 to open with Usman Khawaja. They'll combine first when Australia bats in the first of two Tests starting Wednesday at Adelaide Oval. Smith said the tactics opponents have used against him in the past will now risk blemishing the new ball by landing it halfway down the pitch.

He wants to score more freely in the role, taking advantage of attacking fields and lengths in the way Warner so often did in a 112-test career that ended at the Sydney Cricket Ground last week with a 3-0 Australia sweep over Pakistan.

"It's pretty game, I suppose, with a brand new ball; bowling short stuff and wasting it," Smith told Australian Associated Press.

"I think it helps the scoring rate for sure when you're facing the new ball and there's a bit more attacking going on.

"Over the last few years I've come in after quite a lot of runs... that's probably kept me quieter and made me face a lot more balls to score runs. So perhaps that changes a bit with the new ball, you have a bit more attacking fields and more gaps out there to score runs.

"I've let all the guys know obviously how much I love playing at No. 4, and I'm obviously grateful for the opportunity," Green said. "No. 4 is where I feel like I can take my time and settle in."

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