Rephrase the title:Should Australia drop Steve Smith from T20I squad? Star batsman’s strike rate, average and highest scores in T20Is detailed

One of the biggest questions Australia will need to address before the upcoming edition of the Twenty20 World Cup is whether Steve Smith should be in the final squad for the biennial tournament. 

To say that Smith – considered by many to be the greatest batsman in Tests since Sir Don Bradman – has failed to impress in the shortest format would be an understatement. 

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The 34-year-old has been given a much longer rope by Cricket Australia in T20Is, based on his incredible reputation alone. However, he hasn’t capitalised on his chances, with there being a feeling that he just does not fit the mould in T20Is anymore. 

It’s been a long and storied career for Smith so far. He recently opened in the two T20Is against New Zealand, failing to score big in both innings. The fact that he broke into the Australian ODI and T20I team in early 2010 as a leg-spinner who could bat seems like a page from someone else’s book. 

With that in mind, let’s break down Smith’s strike-rate, averages, and highest scores in T20Is.

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Steve Smith’s T20I strike-rate analysis: How does his strike-rate compare with other top 5 batters (active players)?

Smith made his debut in T20Is on February 5, 2010 against Pakistan. 

In his first 20 T20Is, the New South Welshman mostly came in to bat at #7, #8, or #9. 

After sealing a regular spot in the Australian T20I XI in 2015-16, Smith has mostly batted in one of the top four positions, and playing at #5 here and there. 

Let’s compare Smith’s strike rate with other Australian batsmen who have played as openers or in positions #3, #4, or #5. (minimum 10 innings, since September 2015)

Smith’s strike-rate is bettered by seven Australian batsmen who have played in positions #1 to #5 in at least 10 innings since September 2015. 

Heck, if you calculate the strike-rate regression from Glenn Maxwell (highest) to Steve Smith (lowest), than the regression from Matthew Wade’s strike-rate to Smith’s is the highest compared to any two successive players in the order (6.56%).

A strike-rate of close 126.21 means that the player would score around 151 runs in 20 overs. Nowadays, scoring 151 in a T20I game while batting first is considered to be a below-par score, while chasing 151 is considered a much easier task. 

Steve Smith’s T20I average analysis: One of the worst averages for an Aussie

Smith’s career average of 24.86 isn’t anything to write home about, as this sort of an average, especially for a top-order batter, is usually considered to be substandard. 

Hence, we should focus on his average whenever he played in positions #1 to #5, as this is when he would have faced the most balls. 

His promotion up the order came only after Smith improved by leaps and bounds with the bat. However, in Australia’s T20I history, Smith has the fourth-worst average in T20Is for any batsman who has scored at least 500 runs in the positions #1 to #5. 

Steve Smith’s highest scores in T20Is

Smith has scored only five half-centuries in T20Is, with no century to his name yet. He has scored three centuries in franchise T20 cricket, though, with two centuries in Big Bash League (back-to-back for Sydney Sixers in BBL 2022-23) and one in the Indian Premier League (for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016). 

List of Smith’s T20I half-centuries:

Steve Smith overall T20I record