Steve Smith like nothing I have ever seen before with the bat, says Australia legend Steve Waugh | Cricket News

Australia great Steve Waugh says he has “never seen anything like it” after working closely with Steve Smith during the Ashes series in 2019 and has labelled him the “David Copperfield of batting”; Waugh also opposes banning the bouncer

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Australia legend Steve Waugh compared Steve Smith to a ‘matador in the bullring’ for the way he toys with bowlers while batting

Australia legend Steve Waugh says he has “never seen anything like” Steve Smith and that the world No 1 Test batsman is like “a human computer”.

The former Australia skipper averages a remarkable 62.84 in the longest format and Waugh, who averaged more than 50 in Test cricket himself and played with all-time great batsmen such as Ricky Ponting in his time as captain of the Aussies all-conquering side of the late 1990s and early 2000s, thinks Smith is a unique talent.

Waugh spent time with the Australia team during the 2019 Ashes series, in which Smith dominated, and says the 31-year-old’s preparation is what helps to set him apart.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” he told The Cricket Show. “I’ve had the privilege of watching him up close and I’ve never seen anything like it.

Smith was in sparkling form during the 2019 Ashes, scoring over 700 runs in four Tests

“The way he prepares, he just thinks about cricket 24/7, he’s in his room shadow batting until 12 or one o’clock in the morning, he doesn’t really sleep. During that first Test at Edgbaston where he got those amazing 140s in each innings, he didn’t sleep a wink that whole Test match so five days without sleep.

“I asked him what he does and he said that he closes his eyes but he can’t actually get to sleep so, during that eight or nine hours, he went through every England bowler and every possible scenario.

“He’s like a human computer, all this information goes in and then he spits out the answers.”

Waugh also believes that Smith’s unusual technique and odd little quirks out in the middle help him as bowlers get preoccupied with them and see potential weaknesses that are not actually there.

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“He’s like the David Copperfield of batting because there are all these illusions going on but when he actually hits the ball, his head is still and he hits it underneath his eyes,” Waugh said.

“So there are all these little things going on, which confuses bowlers; he almost draws them in like a matador in the bullring then he throws up the cape and it goes through to the keeper, then all of a sudden the bowler comes to him where he wants it and he’ll put it through the gap.

“He’s the best placer of a ball I’ve ever seen, he never hits the fieldsmen so every time he plays a shot, it goes for runs. He something different, he’s something quite amazing.”

Smith has also been used as an example during a recent debate over whether bouncers should be banned due to concerns around concussion and general player safety, after he was struck by a ferocious short-ball from Jofra Archer at Lord’s in the most recent Ashes series.

Smith was felled by a fierce bouncer from Jofra Archer at Lord’s

He missed the next Test after suffering from a delayed concussion but Waugh is against a change in the laws and thinks the modern batsman is possibly not as adept at playing the short ball as they have the protective equipment necessary to limit any damage if they get hit.

“It’s a part of the game and as a top-order batsman, you want to test yourself against the best bowlers in the toughest situations; they’re often against a quick bowler who is at his peak and bowling short balls at your body and you’ve got to just work out a way to survive,” Waugh added.

“It does take courage, a really good game plan and it takes skill. I think you want to be tested at that top level and if you took the bouncer out of the game, it would take away that element that I think the crowd loves seeing, a bowler steaming in and bowling short balls.

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Former Australia captain Steve Waugh says banning the bouncer in cricket would take entertainment away from the game and reduce the skill of batsmen

“At Lord’s, there was a hush around the ground, it was excitement, it was what Test match cricket is all about. If you take that away, it takes the skill level out of the game and it takes that courage element which is required from a top-order batsman.

“I’m definitely against the bouncer being outlawed, it’s part of the game and it is something that you’ve got to learn to play better. Some of the younger players are perhaps relying on their protective equipment to get them out of a dangerous situation.

“Obviously, after that players have become comfortable wearing helmets and have perhaps lost the skill of playing the short ball as well as in the past.”

Watch the Cricket Show with Rob Key and Michael Atherton joined by special guest Steve Waugh from 7pm, Thursday on Sky Sports Cricket. You can also download the podcast from all the usual places from 7pm.