Steve Smith fails again at top of order against New Zealand as T20 World Cup hopes fade fast
Australia’s experiment with Steve Smith at the top of the T20 order has failed again, with the former skipper dismissed cheaply at Eden Park.
Smith, opening with David Warner absent, made just four in the rain-shortened dead rubber with New Zealand on Sunday.
Sent in by Kiwi skipper Mitchell Santner, Australia were stopped three times by rain on the way to 4-118 off 10.4 overs
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The delays produced a revised total of 126 to win for New Zealand off just 10 overs.
Matt Short (27 off 11 deliveries) and Glenn Maxwell (20 off nine) played explosive hands, with Travis Head (33 off 30) accumulating well.
Finishers Josh Inglis (14 off eight) and Tim David (eight off three) were left at the crease after the third rain delay.
Only Smith missed out, departing meekly after three balls.
The 34-year-old got off the mark with a textbook pull to the boundary, but two balls later was caught half-heartedly attempting to cut a rising Adam Milne delivery, snicking it to wicketkeeper Tim Seifert.
The failure will have done little to boost Smith’s chances of selection for June’s T20 World Cup.
A middle-order bat through most of his T20 career, selectors have given Smith the chance to reinvent himself as an opener in series in India and New Zealand in recent months.
In all but one contest - a 52-run knock in Visakhapatnam - he has been dismissed cheaply.
New Zealand’s bowlers were let down in the field on Sunday, with three chances of varying difficulty dropped as Head was handed two lives.
At 3.10pm local time (1.10pm AEDT), umpires set the contest as a 15-over match with Australia re-starting their innings.
Play lasted eight minutes before another delay, ending the Australian innings and repositioning the contest as a 10-over hit-and-giggle.
Australia made three changes for the match, with Mitch Marsh, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood rested ahead of the Test series beginning at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on Thursday.
Quicks Spencer Johnson and Mitchell Starc came into Australia’s attack, with Short also added to the XI.
New Zealand also made changes, with injured Devon Conway replaced by Tim Seifert and Lockie Ferguson rested for Ish Sodhi.
Australia hold a 2-0 lead in the series and have already retained the Chappell- Hadlee Trophy.
Little is on the line except bragging rights and Australia’s 100 per cent record at Eden Park from four previous T20 outings.
