Ton of history: Smith well placed for MCG impact

A lot has changed since a 21-year-old leg-spinning allrounder named Steve Smith walked onto the MCG for his first Boxing Day Test a decade ago.

Just ask Will Pucovski.

In 2010, Smith was playing just his fourth Test when he was part of the Australian side at the MCG that was routed for 98 by England and ultimately relinquished the urn at home for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.

Sitting in the stands that Boxing Day was Pucovski, then barely out of primary school, who sheepishly admitted this week that his first impression of one of Australia's greatest-ever batsmen was not a good one.

"I've never said this in public before so I'm a bit worried about saying it now," Pucovski said in an interview with 7Cricket published this week.

"(Smith) had the weird technique and everything, and I remember saying to Dad, 'How is this bloke playing Test cricket for Australia? What is he doing, this is ridiculous'.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever said in my life because (now) I could watch him bat – and you do end up watching him bat – for days.

"Now I think he’s an absolute genius and I would give anything to be able to play like him."

Having been dropped following that 2010-11 Ashes campaign, Smith returned to Australian cricket's biggest annual event in 2013 and has averaged 144 in Boxing Day Tests since, including four hundreds in four years between 2014 and 2017.

Even including his scores of 6 and 38 in that Ashes encounter 10 years ago, Smith's MCG batting average of 113.50 is his best among all grounds worldwide where he has played more than once.

"Ten years, it's kind of hard to believe," Smith said today ahead of his eighth Boxing Day Test, against India starting on Saturday.

"It's been a while since then, I've grown as a player over that time and my Boxing Day record is probably my best in Australia of all the grounds.

"I like batting at the MCG, those big occasions, I like to try and make the most of them and help the team out."

Smith returns to his most successful ground this week on the back of his longest century drought since the first of his 26 Test hundreds in 2013.

Since his match-winning double century at Old Trafford in September last year, Smith has batted 12 times in Tests without registering three figures, an average of 40.09 in that time bringing him back to mere mortal status after his heroics in that first-innings in Manchester.

This week will be just his second Boxing Day clash against India, the first coming in 2014 when he scored 192 in his first series as captain, one of seven Test hundreds he has scored in just 11 Tests against them.

A combination of a return to his favourite venue for a match against his favourite opponent could be a warning sign for a wounded Indian side desperate to keep the series alive.

"There's nothing like the thrill, and you get shivers down your spine when you walk out to bat on Boxing Day," he says. "With the crowd yelling, it’s like a dream come true.

"As a kid, I always wanted to play in a Boxing Day Test match. I remember watching them with the family at home after Christmas, so to walk out on Boxing Day to play, you get the shivers down the spine and your hairs on the back of your neck raise up and it's just a great feeling."

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT