Spin lessons being learned: Smith

Australia’s Steve Smith has offered an explanation for coach Darren Lehmann’s assertion that “maybe we are trying to play for things that aren’t there”, citing the difference between Indian spinners and those encountered in the UAE thus far.

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“We talk a lot about how natural variation in the spinners is their biggest strength,” Smith said.

“In India the natural variation is the one that goes straighter.

“(With) these bowlers, the natural variation is the one that spins.

“A lot of the batters have to look at that in this game, play a lot straighter and really cover the ball that won't spin, and if it does, hope it goes past the outside edge. I think we can learn a lot from the dismissals in the first Test.”

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Smith insisted that the Australians weren’t far off getting their games right against the spinners, but was also willing to offer some technical suggestions.

“A lot of them (his teammates) have the idea of how to play in these conditions,” he said.

“Mitch Marsh almost got it spot on how he played the ball he got out to in the second innings.

“The only problem was his bat was too straight; he needed to face it down to the ground a bit more, he needed to reach out in front.

“It's a good way to handle the spinners over here, it covers your pad, stops you from getting hit and if it does spin it'll spin past your bat.

“That’s the way I play – I've got long arms and a decent reach, that works well for me. But everyone's different.

“I think it's about having a game plan and sticking to it and doing it from ball one. I think the start of your innings is the toughest part. If you go out there and expect to see a few balls before you start doing your game plan that's when you're going to get into trouble; you're going to have to do it from ball one.”

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Smith also expressed his frustrations over his first-innings dismissal in the series opener, with the middle-order batsman confident he has learned some valuable lessons from his maiden Test outing in the UAE.

The 25-year-old made 22 in the first innings before seemingly giving his wicket away cheaply as he played a rash cut shot from the bowling of leg-spinning debutant Yasir Shah.

“The first ball (Shah) bowled was actually a top spinner and it bounced a little bit more than I anticipated,” he explained.

“I said to myself before I came over here that I really didn’t want to play too many cut shots against the spin, and I was pretty disappointed with the way I got out in the first innings because I was feeling very good, and I’d got a start.

“It was a pretty crucial part of the game and I needed to knuckle down and bat with David (Warner), who was batting brilliantly at the time.

“It wasn’t to be, and I guess the wickets fell from there.

"Just after I did it I replayed it (in my head) for about two hours. I don’t think I spoke to anyone, I was pretty disappointed.

The right-hander was then Australia’s best-performed batsman in the second innings, surviving 175 deliveries for 55 as the tourists fought to save the contest.

“I was feeling quite good and I was pretty disappointed yesterday when I got out, I thought we were heading in the right direction to get home and I was waiting all day just to fist pump at the end of the day – I’d pictured getting there at the end but it wasn’t to be.

“I know what I need to do in these conditions. I think I did it better in the second innings, I played much better cricket and good percentage play and I think that’s the key over here; the longer you spend out there the easier it gets, and if you are playing within the guidelines of the way you want to play, you are going to go better more often than not.

“I can take a lot out of it from the way I played and the way I handled the spinners, it’s going to hold me in good stead for the next game.”