Steve Smith slips the leash and runs free against India in battle of batting greats

People talk about the ways in which they don’t understand Steve Smith. They detail the idiosyncrasies of the cricketer, his peculiar approach to the game, the things he says that don’t stack up with the way others might use the language.

The bewilderment about Smith “finding his hands” as a batsman before the current one-day series against India was the latest example. But it wasn’t a new sentiment. Smith has spoken in the past about the bat not feeling right when he picked it up, in a way that he can’t define, and the need to rediscover it.

Perhaps the difference is in his head, or perhaps his head picks up on a fine physical distinction. Given that Smith’s socks and pads and taped-up shoelaces all have to be just so for his batting mind…