Steve Smith on opening in Tests: Waiting for long time since Labuschagne bats at No. 3

Sydney, Jan 13 (PTI) Gearing up to open batting for Australia in Tests, Steve Smith on Saturday asserted that it was not a new role for him since he has the experience batting at No. 3 and he likes the challenge of facing the new ball.

Smith will be replacing now-retired David Warner as the opener for the upcoming home Tests against the West Indies.

Warner played his final series earlier this month at home against Pakistan.

Although the likes of Cam Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw were tipped to take Warner's spot, the former two were surprisingly omitted from the squad, while the latter has been named as a reserve in the team.

With Smith set to open alongside Usman Khawaja, he said that he had been waiting for a long time to bat up the order, especially since Marnus Labuschagne has been batting at No. 3 lately.

“Since Marnus has been back playing at No.3, I’ve been waiting to bat for quite a long period of time. I don’t like waiting to bat, so I thought why don’t I put my hand up and have a crack up top? That way, you can get Cameron Green in and you’re playing your best six batters," he told Fox Sports.

“I am (excited). I like facing the newer ball. If you look back to the 2019 Ashes, I was in pretty early there most of the time where I was facing the new ball." “I batted No.3 from a number of years as well and was in early and did pretty well against the new ball. So, it’s nothing new or foreign to me. I enjoy getting in there and getting amongst it, and I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

Smith opened for Sydney Sixers against Sydney Thunders during their recent Big Bash League clash but failed to produce any fireworks, getting dismissed for a golden duck. PTI