How SA century maker drew 'gold' from Smith masterclass

A 20-minute gilded masterclass with Test batting superstar Steve Smith has proved integral to Daniel Drew's emergence as the number three batter South Australia have spent years trying to unearth.

It was during the recent Adelaide Oval Test match between Australia and West Indies that Drew – who was filling in as substitute fielder and drinks steward for the national men's team – sat down with Smith to pick his brain about a flaw he felt had emerged in his batting.

Despite being on SA's list for years, Drew has struggled to secure a berth in the Redbacks' line-up but his unbeaten 160 today in his team's total of 5-311 after being sent in by Shield pacesetters Western Australia came on the back of Smith's shrewd insights.

Not only does the right-hander boast a similar stance and set-up to the former Australia captain and number two-ranked Test batter in the world, he revealed the pair bonded over their devotion to the batting craft.

"Me and (Smith) worked on a few things together and that was just gold taking that back to club cricket over the Big Bash period and then, coming back out here, I felt really prepped for a big innings," Drew said in the wake of posting his highest first-class score today.

"I was having a bit of an issue coming across the ball a bit, with my bat hanging out, the way that me and Smith do it.

"I spoke to him about it and he was having similar issues, so he spoke for about 20 minutes about locking in my elbow and not coming across the ball.

"He felt like he was doing that early in his innings as well.

"Batting at three – I've usually been batting at four, five or six – it's a bit different with the swinging ball, so to be able to get that knowledge from one of the best players in the world, that's gold."

The 26-year-old has been part of the SA system for more than a decade, having represented the state at national under-17 titles in 2012, but is playing just his eighth first-class game with his only previous ton coming against Victoria last summer when batting at number five in his second appearance.

But today's knock represented the highest score by an SA number three since Tom Cooper's 178 against Queensland in 2018, and the right-hander's current average of 50.28 at first drop is the best by any Redbacks batter to have batted more than twice in the role since Greg Blewett (50.46).

SA's most recent long-term number three was Callum Ferguson who played his last innings in the pivotal batting berth against Victoria three seasons ago.

And the Redbacks have since tried Brad Davis, Will Bosisto, Liam Scott, Nathan McSweeney and Jake Carder there with minimal success before Drew was installed earlier this summer.

Despite posting ducks in consecutive Shield innings against WA (in Perth) and Queensland (Brisbane), Drew retained the faith of coach Jason Gillespie and the SA brainstrust who were rewarded for their patience in the final match before the pre-Christmas BBL hiatus.

Drew top-scored with 92 in SA's second innings against Tasmania at Hobart last December where the Redbacks earned their second Shield win since 2020, and followed up with today's ton that vindicated his desire to make the number three batting berth his own.

"At the start of the year I missed out on the squad, and they probably always thought I was a middle-order batter and I wanted to prove them wrong," Drew said having taken over the first-drop role from Carder.

"I thought there was an opportunity, so they asked me and I said 'for sure, I'll take it' and had a few starts here and there at the start of the season and then that last innings of 90 In Hobart, and now a hundred I feel at home at three.

"I love getting out there, getting at it early and just getting amongst it."

He went to the wicket this morning after the early loss of Carder – promoted to open in the absence of Jake Weatherald, who is taking an indefinite break from cricket – with SA having indicated they would have bowled first had the coin fallen their way.

But after the early breakthrough by seamer Charlie Stobo – playing just his fifth first-class game at the venue where he made his Shield debut for New South Wales six years ago – WA found it tough going as Drew and SA skipper Henry Hunt dug in.

The pair guided their team to lunch with further loss, and after the break Drew showed the aggression that has become his trademark in Adelaide's Premier Cricket competition as he unleashed a flurry of fours.

He was particularly brutal on off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli from whom he scored four of the nine boundaries he posted in the hour after lunch, during which time he added 51 from 57 balls faced.

But having breezed his way to 91, Drew became becalmed as Hunt dominated the strike before the opener edged behind off Matt Kelly having reached his third half-century of the season.

McSweeney then came and went for a second-ball duck but, having spent almost an hour in the 90s, Drew reached his second Shield hundred with a neat single through square leg off Rocchiccioli.

He should have been dismissed on 126 when he attempted to cut a ball from David Moody that was too close to his body, but WA skipper Shaun Marsh – playing his first Shield match of the summer – was unable to hold the straightforward chest-high chance at slip.

Marsh had spent much of the day as the lone slips fielder, with the slow nature of the Adelaide pitch leading him to position most of his catchers in front of the wicket with a short mid-on, extra-cover and mid-wicket concurrently deployed as early as midway through the opening day.

Stobo was the most successful of WA's six bowlers – including all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, playing his first Shield game in three seasons – and finished the day with 2-40 from 20 overs.

Among the 27-year-old's victims today was Jake Lehmann (caught down the leg side for 26) who was the only member of the SA team in Stobo's debut match more than six years ago to be involved in the current game.

Having made just two more appearances for NSW over the ensuing three years due to the Blues' formidable fast bowling depth, Stobo made the move to Perth in 2020 with no guarantee of earning a game before receiving a WA contract at the start of this summer.

He and his fellow seamers will be looking for early wickets tomorrow with SA looking to push on past 400 in search of consecutive Shield wins for the first time since 2016-17.

Coincidentally, the most recent occasion SA posted a win having been sent into bat in a Shield game at Adelaide Oval was three years ago against WA, completing a 109-run victory having posted 389 in their first innings after visiting skipper Shaun Marsh opted to field first.