Reliable Smith seeks end to Australian rollercoaster

Over the past four years, no batsman around the world has been as consistent as Australia's captain Steven Smith. Over that same period, no team has been as inconsistent as Australia.

The reliability of Smith's output, highlighted by an average of 72.09 in that time and underlined by his Gabba epic when England tried and failed to bore him out, has contrasted directly with the dizzying highs and crushing lows of the team's fortunes. These have yo-yo'd from twice sitting atop the ICC rankings, in 2014 and 2016, to also sliding to as low as fifth in the world - their current precarious perch.

So it is possible, looking out over the suddenly wintry climate of North Adelaide and its much-loved oval, to both expect plenty more runs from Smith this week and at the same time have little to no idea of what Australia may produce collectively. England, for all their simmering resentment over the targeting of Jonny Bairstow in Brisbane, can take heart not only from the likelihood of a moving ball but also the fact that this is not an Australian side completely acquainted with stringing Test match victories together.

Consistency often starts with team composition, and having surprised many with their XI for the Gabba, Australia's selectors have been able to call upon an unchanged team for Adelaide. That is a shame for the commendably accurate and probing Chadd Sayers, but it is also a tick for the durability of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, plus the sky-high confidence of the spin bowler Nathan Lyon. Granted the same collective as he led in Brisbane, Smith wants to see a shared adherence to Australian fundamentals.

"I think it's just about ensuring we do the basics well here in Australia," he said. "It's a bit different to a lot of the overseas tours, we've grown up on these wickets and know them a lot better, so making sure we're adapting accordingly to whatever the wicket throws up, whatever England's plans throw up, and ensuring we're on from ball one. Hopefully we can get on top of the game early and take some momentum from the last game as well."

This momentum will include Smith's knowledge that he outlasted every conceivable English plan in Brisbane, meaning he will know what is coming in Adelaide even if conditions will provide their own independent challenge. "I'm happy with that, I love batting so I'm happy to stay out there for as long as I can to be perfectly honest," Smith said.

"I don't like being back in the sheds, I prefer being out in the middle and just doing my thing. If it takes me 300 balls to get a 100, then it'll take me 300 balls. That'll also tire the bowlers quite a bit too, so it's a bit of a win-win if that's the case. But I'll just adapt to whatever they throw at me. Hopefully I can have some more success this week.

"I'm just trying to do what I can to get the team in position to win games of cricket. I said after the last game I had to dig really deep to get a total on the board and hopefully I can contribute again in this Test match. You're only as good as your last game. I outperformed them last game, there's no doubt they'll come out hard again. They're good bowlers, they've got good skills. As a collective batting group we'll have to be at our best to score runs against them."

The rhythms of the Gabba Test verged on the subcontinental due to the pitch's unusual slowness, moving at a glacial speed before quickening up along with the surface on day four. In Adelaide, the vagaries of the pink ball, the well-grassed pitch, the day/night timeslot and cool, damp weather mean that there is every chance this match may progress in fits and starts, as batting looks simple at times and fiendishly difficult at others not so far apart. Smith, for one, is curious as to whether England will again play a waiting game.

"It'll be interesting to see whether they change up their tactics and go down that path again," he said. "Traditionally we've seen

with the pink ball that things can happen pretty quickly. So I'd say Adelaide is a little bit different to the Shield game a couple of weeks ago, there's a square there now. There wasn't a square in the Shield game and it was really slow, the outfield, it was hard to come by runs so it's a little bit different.

"The outfield looks in good order, it's going to be quite quick. there'a a square which helps. And the wicket looks probably like there won't be as much sideways movement perhaps as in previous years. So it'll be interesting to see what sort of plans they come up with."

One of the surprises to emerge from Smith's last visit to Adelaide Oval was the reverse swing gained by Starc with the latest iteration of the Kookaburra ball. Married to the more conventional seam and swing likely to be on offer, this may well add another layer of intrigue to the contest, and a fresh challenge for England.

"No doubt he'll take some confidence out of it," Smith said of Starc's haul against South Australia in that Sheffield Shield match. "It looked like was in real good rhythm last night and bowling with some good pace and swinging the ball, so he got the ball to reverse here in the Shield game which is a bit different, but I think he's excited about this week and hopefully he can get that ball swinging around at good pace."

The other thing of note that week was that Smith himself struggled in the conditions, pinned lbw by Sayers in the first innings then edging a Daniel Worrall away-swinger that he pushed at in the second. Though New South Wales still emerged victorious, Australia's rollercoaster fortunes in recent years have placed far greater reliance upon Smith to produce spinal innings; to do so in Adelaide he will need an even more consistent level of excellence than usual.