Smith opens up on move down Test order

Steve Smith is hardly mourning the end of his stint as a Test opener, admitting he is glad to be back at his "ideal position" at second drop, yet the star batter insists he never "requested" a move back down the order.

Smith's four-Test spell as David Warner's replacement at the top of the order was confirmed to be over by selection chief George Bailey, following a decision made by captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald.

The 35-year-old Smith is set to return to No.4 after Cameron Green was ruled out of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Although selection conversations regarding his possible return to the middle order were had prior to Green's injury, Smith stressed he was happy batting anywhere – including the opening berth he had expressed enthusiasm for only months earlier.

"I got asked where I'd prefer to bat, and I said four … I also said I'm happy batting wherever, I'm not really too fussed," the star batter told reporters on Monday at stumps on day two of NSW's Sheffield Shield match against Victoria.

"I got asked (by Cummins, McDonald) where my preference would be, and I said four. I saw a few things last week saying that I've requested to bat at four. That wasn't the case. I said I'm happy to bat wherever you'd like me to bat, but yeah, four would be my ideal position."

Bailey said last week that his understanding of the conversations was Smith had "expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position".

In January, Cummins admitted Smith’s eagerness for a new challenge helped to win him over in endorsing the move up to open following Warner’s retirement.

But Smith, who averages 61.50 batting at four, managed less than half that mark during the eight innings in which he opened at home against the Windies and then away to New Zealand.

That’s notwithstanding his heroics at the Gabba against the Windies when he almost singlehandedly won Australia a tight Test, carrying his bat for 91no in the fourth innings.

Green looked to have seized his chance to be the long-term number four when he scored a brilliant 174no in Wellington. His back injury, and his subsequent decision to undergo surgery to fix it, left Australia searching for a replacement.

Neither opener Usman Khawaja nor No.3 Marnus Labuschagne wanted Smith to continue opening, according to him.

"Obviously there's a spot there now with Greeny out," said Smith.

"Conversations we had after New Zealand, with particularly Marnus and Uzzie, they hated me up top, to be honest. They wanted me behind them. So that was a big part of it. And then obviously I've got a decent record at four.

"It was good fun having a crack at something new, batting up top. I still feel like I could do a job there for sure. It was a pretty small sample size.

"But I've done pretty well at four for a number of years now. I feel like it's probably where I can have my best input for this team at the moment."

None of the leading contenders to take Smith's opening position in the Test side advanced their cases on Monday.

Marcus Harris (who was caught down the leg-side for 16 off Mitchell Starc), Cameron Bancroft (who made 8 against South Australia) and Smith's teammate Sam Konstas (lbw to Scott Boland for 2) all fell cheaply.

But Smith, who suggested Konstas had been unfortunate to have been given out with Boland's nip-backer looking to have been darting down the leg-side, did endorse the teenager's opening partner at the Blues, Nic Maddinson, as a Test option.

"There's a few really good candidates, guys that have done really well the last few years – Bancroft and the usual suspects that have been talked about," said Smith.

"'Maddo' I think is also another really good candidate. He's had a good couple of years. If you're looking for someone similar to a Davey replacement, he gets after the ball and can score really quickly.

"So he's someone who probably hasn't been spoken about a great deal in the last little bit, but I think he's someone that could definitely play Test cricket and have a similar impact to what Davey sort of had at the top, the way he plays.

"So plenty of options."

Smith was caught down the leg-side after adding only three to NSW's meagre first-innings tally of 136, surviving 29 deliveries on what has proved a difficult MCG pitch for batters.

"I actually felt pretty good out there, to be honest, for the three that I scored, strangely enough," he said.

"I felt like I was moving well. I was leaving well, and got a little bit unlucky with the one that sort of took off a little bit down the leg side. And that can happen.

"But I actually felt like I was getting in nice positions. My bat path was good and felt pretty good. So happy with that."