Steven Smith: Why Can't Bowlers Work out Australia's Unorthodox Batting Star?

Luckily for Steven Smith, international cricket isn't a beauty contest. In terms of artistry, he's no Ian Bell, let alone a Mark Waugh or Carl Hooper. All Smith does is score runs. Bucket loads of them. Given his unorthodox technique, why hasn't any bowler really worked him out?

The West Indies were the latest attack to be put to the sword by the 26-year-old at Sabina Park on Thursday. Coming in at No. 3 on a sporting pitch, Smith first saw off the new-ball challenge posed by a rampant Jerome Taylor. As conditions eased, he made hay against a home attack, missing Devendra Bishoo and Marlon Samuels to close unbeaten on 135.

The latest effort in Kingston was Smith's fifth century in his past six Test appearances, which takes his career total to nine. To put that accomplishment into some kind of context, Sir Donald Bradman, Neil Harvey and Doug Walters are the only other Australians to have scored nine centuries by the age of 26.

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Smith in Tests since the start of the Aus summer: 162*, 52*, 133, 28, 192, 14, 117, 71, 25, 5*, and now 102* #WIvAUS pic.twitter.com/YblwrHTt0o

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) June 11, 2015"

Yet when you watch Smith bat, it shouldn't really work. There are too many moving parts. The high backlift should make him a prime candidate for a swinging yorker. The exaggerated shuffle across the stumps and constant working of balls to leg seem prime leg-before-wicket territory.

Smith's technique isn't one you'd encourage a youngster to to copy, but it works perfectly well for him. And that's all that counts.

The New South Welshman's unorthodoxy makes him a nightmare for bowlers. As former Aussie great Dean Jones noted in a recent Sydney Morning Herald column, “Smith will not allow a bowler to work on him. He is one of the best players at moving fieldsmen around to positions where he wants them.”

There are few better players in the game today who are so adept at taking on the spinners. Smith always looks to dominate, constantly dancing down the pitch. Occasionally, it will prove his undoing, as Bishoo showed in Dominica. Most of the time, taking the attacking approach removes close fielders and facilitates the easy runs.

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ICYMI: @stevesmith49 is really, really, ridiculously good at scoring runs. Highlights: http://t.co/7h4ypfbjYY #WIvAUS pic.twitter.com/2l8e3dyBWi

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) June 11, 2015"

If the quicks bowl anywhere near the stumps, he'll whip them to leg. Dare to bowl too far outside off stump and he'll smash them through backward point.

If Smith's technique looks a little flighty, his temperament is rock solid. There's little sense that anything really bothers him out in the middle. This is a man who scored centuries in his debut as Australian Test and One-Day International captain after all.

The promotion to No. 3 seems to have left him completely unfazed too. In his column for Fox Sports this week, Smith wrote, “There’s a lot said about the importance of batting first drop in Test cricket but, to me, it doesn’t make much difference. ... I think the importance of where you bat in the order is overstated—and I should know, given I have batted in seven different positions in the Test team over the years!”

So what hope is there for bowlers? Taylor's accuracy and swing and Bishoo's sharp spun leg-breaks have looked the most likely sources of success for the West Indies.

James Anderson's late swing could be the key to challenging Smith's dominance in the forthcoming Ashes series. No bowler has dismissed Smith more often in Tests. If the Lancastrian cannot unlock the Smith conundrum, it could be a long summer for Alastair Cook's men.