Australian captain Steve Smith is trying Baseball in the USA to test his hitting skills. In 2014, Michael Clarke paved the way with the St Louis Cardinals.
Smith, fresh from leading Australia’s one-day team to victory in the Caribbean tri-series versus the West Indies and South Africa, stopped at Boston before his next official engagement in Sri Lanka.
So he went to Fenway Park and met Boston’s all-star second baseman Dustin Pedroia where he swapped the flat face of a cricket bat for the rounded slugger used in the diamond game.
Smith with his natural strokeplay made a good connection and sent the balls deep into the Fenway outfield. However, he couldn’t clear the Park’s famous “Green Monster” an 11.33-meter high wall in left field that has thwarted many hitters.
“He had a good swing … it was pretty cool to watch,” Pedroia said. “He looked good, anytime you can come out and hit balls like that, without doing it (regularly) it’s pretty impressive.”
Smith is now criticizing his own technique and looking for ways to improve. “It took me a little while to get into it, I was hitting the ball a bit more up, a little bit more like how a cricket bat should go,” the Australia skipper said.
“But I think you’ve got to hit it a bit more ‘down’, to get the backspin on the ball to get some more distance. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get one over the ‘Green Monster’.”
However, Pedoria didn’t taste his skills in cricket as he has had on the same day. Moreover, he doesn’t want to “embarrass” himself.
Earlier in 2014, Michael Clarke’s wife Kyly Clarke threw the first pitch at St Lous’s Busch Stadium ahead of a match against the Chicago Clubs, with the then Australia captain Micheal Clarke catching at home plate.
Steve Smith also do pre-match activities at the Fenway Park along with celebrities. Smith also showed his skill of strong arm. He unleashed his arm cannon over the full 18.4 with a rocketing throw.