Smith thrives in return to first drop

The 95 made by new No.3 batsman Steve Smith may be worth more than the sum of its parts as Australia prepare for their most important Cricket World Cup fixture yet.

Smith’s steady innings in Perth against Afghanistan will hardly be remembered as one of the finest hands of his career, especially given it was overshadowed by Australian World Cup record performances by David Warner and Glenn Maxwell.

Quick Single: Warner, Maxwell hammer Afghanistan

But for the batsman himself, it has resolved some nagging issues that could well have seen his form tail away just as the summer nears its crescendo, beginning with a crunch match against Sri Lanka at the SCG on Sunday. 

"I think I’d just lost a little bit of rhythm with my swing the last couple of games, I felt (that) a little bit in practice as well," Smith admitted after a pair of single-figure scores to open the tournament.

"I felt good before the game in practice, I felt like I was getting back to where I wanted to be. I just needed that time in the middle – it always makes things a lot easier and you feel a lot better when you get runs out in the middle, so I’m happy with where everything is now.

"I tried to take my time today and just get into my innings. I certainly felt a lot better when I was in the thirties and forties, I started to get a bit of rhythm and hopefully everything’s back to where I want it to be."

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Smith flicks to the leg side against Afghanistan // Getty

Australia and Sri Lanka will be vying for a top two place in Pool A when they meet in Sydney on Sunday, with the benefit of avoiding a probable meeting with South Africa in the quarter-finals on the line.

The Sri Lankans have won four of their past six matches against Australia at the venue, dating back to 2003. 

"They're obviously playing some very good cricket at the moment – their top order has been firing," Smith added.

"For us, it’s about being quite aggressive and trying to take those early wickets to put their middle order under pressure – they haven’t had a lot of time in the middle out here (in Australia and New Zealand)."

Captain Michael Clarke is also well aware of the threat these sub-continental opposition and runners up in the past two tournaments pose.

"They're going to be a really tough team to beat," Clarke said.

"They like playing at the Sydney Cricket Ground and they’re playing really good cricket.

"They've got experience and I think that’s always an important part of a good team in major tournaments; if you’ve got some players who have been involved in World Cups before, I think that gives you a good advantage, and Sri Lanka have certainly got a few of those players and they’re in really good form."

Smith’s return to the No.3 slot again reaped dividends for the New South Welshman, who believes it is a role that benefits his game. 

The numbers back up the assertion; in nine ODI innings now at No.3, he has made two hundreds and three fifties and averages 71.

"I enjoy batting at No.3, I’ve had a little bit of success there in the one-day format so far," he said.

"(It was) obviously disappointing for 'Watto' (Shane Watson) to miss out but I enjoy batting there and hopefully I can continue my form up there ... particularly with the two guys at the top (openers David Warner and Aaron Finch) – batting with them allows me to get into my innings and just play the ball as I see it. I don’t have to rush."

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Australia's top four against Afghanistan // Getty

Smith was surprised by the decision to drop 33-year-old Watson, and said the top-order batting group had spoken about the need for consistently significant contributions.

Quick Single: I've only got myself to blame: Watson 

"I was quite shocked (about Watson) to be honest," he added. "I didn’t really see it coming. 

"It's very disappointing for him but there’s still a lot of cricket to be played in this tournament, he might get another opportunity.

"I think for us as a batting group we've been a little bit disappointing with the ways we’ve got out, (so) we’ve put a pretty big emphasis on the top four or five getting the bulk of the runs.

"I think we’ve probably left it up to guys like James Faulkner and that at No.8 to get the runs. It’s a luxury to have someone like Faulkner batting at No.8, but it’s not his job to do it every game."