Smith confirms move to No.4

Australian Test skipper Steve Smith has confirmed he will drop down to No.4 for the first Test against New Zealand to provide balance to his inexperienced batting line-up.

Smith had already conceded after taking over the captaincy from Michael Clarke that he may have to drop down to four and he has now confirmed the move, with Queensland batsman Usman Khawaja to slot into the No.3 spot while fellow Bull Joe Burns will join David Warner as opener for the first Commonwealth Bank Test in Brisbane on Thursday.

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Smith shifted to first drop during the tour of the Caribbean earlier this year and scored a masterful 143 batting at No.3 in his most recent Test at The Oval in August.

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He averages 71.90 after seven Tests at first drop.

But his average is 80.00 at No.4, from the four Tests he played in the position against India last summer.

"I think breaking the more experienced players up a little bit in the order (is the right thing to do)," Smith told News Corp.

"(By dropping down to No. 4), if there’s a run of wickets hopefully I can stop it.

"I think a lot of the players that are coming through at the moment are top order players.

"It’s just the way I see it at the moment.

"Breaking it up between Davey and myself and hopefully the guys at the top and No. 3 do well and then I can just come in and get some runs on the board as well."

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A host of Australian greats had weighed into the debate about where Smith should bat himself in his first series as captain, with Ian Chappell and Mike Hussey believing he should stay put.

"After the conversation I had with him the other day I suspect he will bat at four which I think will be a mistake," Chappell said last month.

"It's ridiculous. He's playing well. Why move?

"Why put a lesser player ahead of him?

"I didn't want lesser players batting ahead of me unless they were openers."

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Hussey agreed, electing Smith to retain his position and take on the New Zealand attack from first-drop.

"I personally like the idea of the best batsman coming in at No.3 and setting the tone," Hussey said.

"Ricky Ponting, he's someone that did it for Australia, coming in at No.3 and playing nice, positive, aggressive cricket, sending a message to the opposition but also reassuring everybody else in the batting order that it's not too bad out in the middle.

"If it was up to me I'd like Steve to bat three, but there's a lot that goes into that with the team balance and where he feels most comfortable playing as well."

But when Ponting picked his first Test team for cricket.com.au last month, he named Smith at No.4 to make way for Queensland Bulls captain Khawaja, while Steve Waugh echoed his sentiments, endorsing Khawaja to succeed long-term at No.3. 

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Smith hopes the move to No.4 will be a permanent one.

"One of my philosophies is to make sure I am leading from the front so hopefully I can do that this summer and a summer with the bat like the last one would be nice, so we’ll see how it goes."

"I think it would probably be more if it doesn’t work out for certain players (that I would change back).

"If it didn’t work out and I saw it fit to go to three, that’s no drama as well.

"I really don’t see a big difference between three and four playing wise."