Former Australian cricketer Simon Katich remains optimistic about the form of veteran batters Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith, despite their underwhelming performances, and expressed confidence that the Gabba Test, starting from Saturday in Brisbane, could provide an opportunity for the pair to deliver big scores. Both players have struggled to make significant contributions, with Khawaja scoring 8, 4, 13, and 9 not out across four innings and Smith managing just 0, 17, and 2. But, Katich noticed indications from Smith in the second dig at Perth and Khawaja in the first innings in Adelaide that the two are finding a little bit of touch without converting it into significant runs.
“I thought Uzzie did a good job in that first innings in Adelaide. It was tough conditions that night and I thought he and young McSweeney did a good job in making sure that Australia got to Stumps one down. Whilst he only got 13, it was the number of balls he soaked up early on … then he got the job done in the second innings in a little chase,’ Katich said on SEN Mornings.
“With Smith, in Perth, he looked good in the second innings, got out on 17 and got a pretty good ball, but he’s looked like he was moving pretty well and looked like he had good intent to try and score. It’s been hard to get a read at this stage because both wickets against the new ball have been tough work for the top-order batsman.
“Hopefully at the Gabba, if we see good conditions like we have in the past, batting should be at some point very good for the guys to go on and get big scores.This is probably the Test where a few of those guys will want to really cash in and get a big hundred,” he added.
Despite his faith in their abilities, Katich admitted concerns about the duo’s longevity in Test cricket, given their advancing ages. At 37, Khawaja faces the added challenge of maintaining his form at the top of the order, while Smith, at 35, is approaching an age where many batters begin to decline.
“I’m not writing them off just yet, they’re both obviously very good players, but the concern is their age. Test cricket’s not easy when you get to 35-plus and then history suggests that not too many 35-year-olds play their best cricket at that age, Khawaja is probably the outlier because he has in the last couple of years, but he will be 38 soon. The challenge for him is to be able to go out there and still perform at the top of the order,” Katich said.
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