NEW DELHI: According to Australian ace batsman Steve Smith, Kookaburra changed their ball in 2020 by adding more lacquer on a stronger seam, making the last three years the most difficult of his storied career.
A strengthened seam gives the red cherry extra firmness and flexibility, while lacquer, a plastic coating, hardens the ball.
On the second day of the third Test match against India at The Gabba in Brisbane, Smith overcame all of these obstacles and more to score a 33rd century.
For a batter of his caliber, it was the first Test hundred in the previous 18 months.
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“Since 2021 when they changed the Kookaburra ball, batting has definitely got more difficult, particularly at the same time wickets got greener as well. So it’s kind of like a perfect storm coming together,” Smith said at the customary press conference at the end of second day’s play.
Playing out the first 30 to 35 overs, when the ball travels around a lot, is the hardest part, he said, and it gets harder for the batters when world-class bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah are in action.
“I think particularly the first 35 overs, I’d say, of an innings is very challenging at the moment with the significant seam movement. But then kind of, as I said before, I think the ball stays hard.
“So if you get through that period and, you know, you’ve got some guys like Travis and Marshy and Alex coming in, the ball still bounces off the bat a lot harder than it used to.
“So, the last three years have probably been the hardest that I’ve experienced in my career. Batting-wise, in terms of the amount of movement that’s been generated.
“You can see that in the way the scores have come down as well. And, you know, bowling averages come down, batting averages come down.
“And usually in the first innings of a game, if you’re putting, you think back probably five years ago, you’re seeing consistent 400, 500s being scored in the first innings. If you put a three in front of it these days, you’re usually in a pretty strong position.
The 35-year-old batting mainstay was lucky not to be out in the first few overs of his innings, but Smith acknowledged that it takes some luck to reach the big-hundred mark these days.
“If you get a big score, you’re going to need some luck to do it. And you’re going to have to play really well. Test by Test. I’ve been doing it for so long. So if I want to change a few different things, it really doesn’t take me long to do it.
“Sometimes I do it in the middle of an innings. That’s a part about adapting to situations and scenarios that are put in front of you and having the confidence to do it.”
Smith’s century surpassed Steve Waugh’s 32 to take second place on the Australian leaderboard. Now, the only Australian ahead of Smith with 41 hundreds is Ricky Ponting.
It goes without saying that he was relieved to reach his first century since June 2023.
“It was just nice to get to three figures. It’s been a little while. It’s been tricky the first couple of games. Had a couple of nice balls and got strangled down the leg side in Adelaide.
“I feel like I’ve been batting well the last month or so. It was kind of just sticking to my processes, trusting that it’ll turn around.”
Australia ended the day with a solid 405 for seven thanks to hundreds from Smith and the highly effective Travis Head. They will try to build on the first day’s lackluster action due to rain.
Smith claimed that his mood in the nets has been positive and credited them for their skill in handling the new ball, which has been moving incredibly.
“A lot of credit has to go to the top three. They faced 50-odd balls each, which is a pretty good effort on that wicket out there. They played really well yesterday and then started, okay today.
“If we can sort of get to 30-odd overs when Travis comes in, it makes a big difference to the team. The seam probably starts to settle down around 30, 40 overs and the ball stays quite hard.
“This new ball that they changed in 2021 or whatever it is. So, you see guys batting at 5, 6, 7 that are able to hit the ball hard and get good value for their shots. That’s the kind of way we’ve been shaping up.”