Smith targets his own 'final frontier'

Even at the age of 27, there isn’t a lot Steve Smith is yet to achieve in the game of cricket.

Sure, winning an Ashes in England is enough to keep any Aussie cricketer motivated, but the national skipper is this week hoping to tick off a couple more items from a to-do list that shortens by the series.

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The Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka beginning in Kandy tomorrow marks Smith’s first Test tour of Asia as captain and just the third of his career.

After entering the Test arena as yet another ‘next Shane Warne’, Smith spent nearly two-and-a-half-years out of the side before earning a recall for the final two matches of their tumultuous tour of India in 2013.

An average of 40.25 from his four hits in that series, followed by a century for Australia A against Ireland under the watchful eye of soon-to-be national coach Darren Lehmann, resulted in Smith being added to the Ashes touring party as an extra batsman.

Not only has Smith not missed a Test since that initial recall in India, he’s done so at a remarkable average of 65.32 with 14 hundreds in 36 Tests.

However, only one more trip to Asia has followed as Smith’s reputation as one of the nation’s finest-ever batsmen continued to grow.

Excluding the initial phase as a bowling allrounder, the 2014 tour against Pakistan in the UAE – another Australian disappointment – sits alongside that trip to India as Smith’s only Test campaigns without a century.

"I haven’t got a hundred yet (in Asia) so it would be nice to tick that off,” said Smith, who does have an innings of 92 in Mohali and one of 97 in Abu Dhabi to his name. "This week would be good.

"It’s going to be a tough series but we’re all looking forward to it, and hopefully I can have some success along the way."

Not to say an average of 41.87 in Asia represents a notable blemish on Smith’s record.

With a shuffle here and a hoik from outside off there, the skipper’s unconventional technique seems ideally suited to subcontinental batting.

Stump-to-stump bowling to straight 'boring' fields are commonplace in these conditions and Smith has shown the right mix of unorthodox and class that could make the undermanned Sri Lankan sweat over the course of the next four weeks.

"I’m not sure, I hope so,” Smith said when asked if these pitches suited his natural game.

"I enjoy playing cricket in the subcontinent it’s always a great challenge.

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"The ball generally does something quite regularly in the game, whether it’s reverse swing or spin.

"It’s a great challenge to try and bat for long periods and get big scores."

Smith currently sits among a handful of potential batting greats who will all be in Test action in various parts of the world for the next few weeks.

Joe Root and Virat Kohli have already upped the ante in recent days with a double century each, while Kane Williamson will soon look to plunder Zimbabwe's bowlers to all parts of Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

This week it's over to Smith to tick off another item from that to-do list.