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Ex-teammate offers solution to end ‘drastic’ Steve Smith experiment

Ex-teammate offers solution to end ‘drastic’ Steve Smith experiment

Channel 7’s newest cricket commentator Aaron Finch has declared it is time for Australia to “pick your best side” and move on from the Steve Smith opening experiment.

Smith took on the challenge after David Warner retired from Test cricket midway through last summer, and he made just two genuine starts in eight innings before the red-ball side moved out of the spotlight.

With the Sheffield Shield and a landmark five-Test series against India now on the horizon, the issue is bubbling away again — and Finch says Smith should now be suitably “reinvigorated” to accept a move back to No.4 as “the right fit”.

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“I was a little bit surprised at the time. Just such a drastic change for such a great player, I think,” Finch told 7NEWS.com.au.

“But I also do understand that he’s got the ability. The innings he played against the West Indies at the Gabba — 91 not out in a tight loss (to the West Indies) was really impressive.

“If you look at it from Steve’s perspective, he’s achieved everything in the game. There’s nothing left for him to tick off, maybe (only) to go past 10,000 runs, which is just around the corner.”