Smith rules out four quicks against New Zealand

“I don't think we'll end up going with the four big quicks.”

With that one sentence right at the start of his pre-match press conference, Steve Smith quelled a fair bit of excitement that had built up over Australia’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Ever since Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson were named in Australia’s 15, there had been a frisson about watching them bowl together. But as things stand now, common sense seems to have triumphed over romanticism, at least as far as the opening match against New Zealand goes.

“We've got a couple of options there as all-rounders,” said Smith on the eve of the match. “You know, (Marcus) Stoinis did very well in New Zealand in the last series, and (John) Hastings has done very well for us over in these conditions. He's a little bit slower than the others and hits the seam and has some good skills throughout the middle as well. We've got a couple of options there. We probably won't end up going with the four big quicks to begin the series.”

Smith was understandably delighted that he had those pace options to call on, but emphasised that he “couldn’t make” any promises about all four pacers getting a go at some stage either. “It's great. They're all fit and bowling well and ready to go. It's hard always to fit four big, fast bowlers into one line-up. But it's great that we've certainly got those options there now,” he said. “We might make little changes throughout, depending on the conditions and how we're going. So I can't make any promises there.”

One place where all the fast bowlers have had a go has been in the Australian nets, and Smith acknowledged that there were easier tasks in the world than facing up to them steaming in during practice, each naturally giving his all not only because the out-and-out fast bowlers seem to be built by nature into doing just that, but also to make their cases for selection.

“It's very challenging in the nets, particularly if there's a little bit in the wicket,” said Smith. “It's been a great challenge for our batters. It's always nice facing those kinds of guys and being challenged. Everyone's a little bit quicker in the nets as well. So when you get out in the middle, things seem a little bit easier, and hopefully it shows when we bat tomorrow.”

The four quicks being fit and available also means that Australia has had the luxury of going in with a full-strength squad after a long time, something Smith was understandably excited about. “Yeah, it's nice. You always want to be playing your best team in big tournaments. I'm excited about the squad we've got here, and excited to get going tomorrow.

“We certainly hold ourselves very highly in these tournaments. We've got a very good record in the ICC tournaments over the last, I guess, 10 to 15 years. We work our hardest in these tournaments to try and win them. And we've got a good group of players here to do that. Everyone's been batting particularly well in the nets. The bowlers have been steaming in and been great as well. So everyone's pumped and ready to get started tomorrow.”

The nature of the Champions Trophy is such that losing even one match in the league stages might mean missing out on a semi-final berth, and Smith said his side was very aware of the need to stay focussed. To that end, the still-brewing problems between the Australian Cricketers’ Association and Cricket Australia had been put on the backburner during training and match time. “The guys have been great,” said Smith. “We know that the ACA's handling everything back home. And for us, our focus is on this tournament, and it needs to be, because we're coming up against some good opposition. It's a very cutthroat tournament. And you need to be switched on the whole time. The boys are focused on that.”