Steven Smith – Gabba match against South Africa ‘Australia’s toughest’

South Africa were crushed in Brisbane as 34 wickets fell in two days to open a successful series, making it the shortest Test on Australian soil in 91 years.

Although Australia won 1-0 for a six-wicket win, Smith wants to see the batsmen contribute more during the Boxing Day Test.

“As a tobacconist, I would like it to do a little less,” he said in Melbourne on Wednesday. “I think it’s a good balance to try to get an even contest between the bat and the ball [the Gabba] was probably the hardest card I’ve played here in Australia.”

“I think there were a few instances where the ball did things that were just out of nowhere,” Smith said. “Some balls sat in the door and made splits, others went through and it was just incredibly difficult to hit again. Whether it was dangerous or not, that’s really not for me to judge, but it certainly wasn’t easy to hit. .”

Cricket Australia’s director of cricket operations, Peter Roach, has accepted the ICC’s assessment, admitting fast bowling was too heavily favored at the Gabba.

“We encourage all of our matches to look at how we get the balance right going into day four,” Roach told reporters. “We say no disappointment when the match goes to the fifth day; the lateness of the fourth day gives the game a chance to go a little further.”

But it was just five years ago that the MCG was rated “poor” after a dull draw that saw just 24 cards drawn over five days.

Roach said MCG curator Matt Page would not change his preparations based on what happened at the Gabba.

Smith looked a little confused when told there was no message from CA to make it more batter friendly, MCG said it all.

“[Last year’s MCG Test] “It’s been three days, it’s been a tough weekend and we’ve had two really good bowling attacks again this year, so we’ll take stock of the conditions and try to play accordingly,” Smith said.