Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has admitted that today’s Test batsmen lack patience and the brain to succeed in overseas conditions.
Meanwhile, opening the batting in England has been a dangerous task for the batsmen. Only eight men in the history of Test cricket have passed that 1,000 runs mark on tours there. Smith says modern batsmen lack the mentality to bat longer and work hard against the new Dukes ball in seam-friendly wickets.
“I just think modern-day batters don’t have the patience anymore. They’re not ready to work through periods,” Smith told Cricbuzz. “Look at Virat Kohli‘s hundred in the Edgbaston game. How long was he under the pump for? He fought and he fought and he fought, and then suddenly it breaks; you get the opportunity to play and the game opens up,” Graeme Smith added.
The former Proteas batsman noted that batsmen need to have a brain and acknowledge the wicket. He feels it is about understanding the situation and putting everything to it.
“You have to have a brain. Sometimes you realise that, ‘OK, the wicket is doing a lot, the ball is swinging, I’ve got to fight and fight hard to get through it’.
“So it’s about figuring out and understanding what you’re up against and putting your technique and mindset into the situation,” he adds.
Graeme Smith scored 5,253 of his 9,265 Test runs opening the batting on foreign soil, at the hugely impressive average of 55.88. Only Alastair Cook has better statistics than Smith as an opener among the 21st-century batsmen.
Graeme Smith divulges on the technique to be successful in England
English conditions have brought many a visiting batting line-up undone. However, Smith said being confident in playing the line was crucial with the seam movement the Dukes ball could generate.
“When you’re batting in England, the minute you follow the ball you tend to nick it more,” he said. “If you can play a line and you hold your line, if there’s swing or movement and it beats you, then that’s fine. So I was quite comfortable playing and missing in England and holding my channels with my bat,” Graeme Smith concludes.