{"id":358654,"date":"2024-01-09T18:09:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T19:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=358654"},"modified":"2024-01-09T20:02:25","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T20:02:25","slug":"teammate-says-smith-switch-would-be-massive-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=358654","title":{"rendered":"Teammate says Smith switch would be 'massive win'"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marnus Labuschagne<\/a> has thrown his support behind Steve Smith<\/a> as new Australian Test<\/a> opener.<\/p>\n

The race to become David Warner's replacement<\/a> has seemingly narrowed to two candidates \u2013 Smith and Cameron Green<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But with Green flagged as a future long-term option at Smith's No.4 position, it's the former skipper who is believed to be the preferred candidate to move up the order and join Usman Khawaja<\/a> beginning with the two-Test series against the West Indies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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"I have no doubt he'd do a good job," Labuschagne told media on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

"He's excited for a new challenge, and if that motivates him and that gives the cricket world Steve Smith for another two or three years, that's a massive win."<\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/p>\n

Endorsement of Smith at the top of the order has also come from former Test captain Mark Taylor<\/a> who said it would be "a good move", particularly if Smith himself is keen on the promotion.<\/p>\n

While Travis Head and Mitch Marsh were the early favourites, both expressed concerns about changing their roles in the team given they've only recently cemented themselves in the middle order.<\/p>\n

Selectors have been criticised in the past for shuffling the order and moving players into roles they're not comfortable playing.<\/p>\n

They've also come under fire for not picking the Test squad based on Sheffield Shield form, where \ufeffCameron Bancroft, Matt Renshaw and Marcus Harris have all been making runs.<\/p>\n

But Labuschagne suggested Smith's willingness to open, and Green's own Shield average, was enough for him to believe this was the answer.<\/p>\n

"(Green) has a sound technique, he's got a great defence, and that's the versatility you need to bat four," he said.<\/p>\n

"It seems like it's more the player who wants to move up, rather than move things around and try and find a position for Cam.<\/p>\n

\"Batter<\/p>\n

"Cameron Green is also averaging over 50 in Shield cricket \u2013 there's not many guys doing that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

"That's not a kick at all on Shield cricket, it's a tough comparison to make."<\/p>\n

Labuschagne and Khawaja will pad up for the Brisbane Heat in their BBL clash against the Scorchers at the Gabba on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Smith has been named in the Sydney Sixers squad to take on the Thunder in the Sydney Smash at the SCG on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marnus Labuschagne has thrown his support behind Steve Smith as new Australian Test opener. The race to become David Warner's replacement has seemingly narrowed to […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":358658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358654"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=358654"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358666,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358654\/revisions\/358666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/358658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=358654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=358654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=358654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}