Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson reckons Australia will get to see the best of Steve Smith this summer irrespective of whether he bats at No 4 or chooses to open again. Smith, who opened the series against the West Indies which Australia drew 1-1, is expected to bat at his usual No 4 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that begins on Friday.

Speaking on Willow Talk Cricket Podcast, Watson also pointed out where it went wrong for Smith as an opener. “Steve wanted to open. He was super keen to take up a new challenge,” Watson said. “But one thing with that opportunity he had was he wasn’t actually batting at his best at that time. So he got an opportunity to open and Steve Smith at his very best would have made the most out of it because he just loves scoring runs whether it is opening or at No 4. You could see it a few times he got out when he was opening – his game and his technique was a little bit off,” he added.

Ahead of this summer, there were plenty of debate as to where Smith should bat. With David Warner hanging up his boots, there has been vacancy at the top and after much deliberation, Australia picked Nathan McSweeney for the role. It means Smith will bat at No 4, where he averages 61.50 including 19 centuries and 26 fifties.

“In the one-day series (against Pakistan), in one of the innings at the MCG — wow, it looked like the very best of him. Jeez, he had so much time and had all the shots. I’m confident that Smith would bring that version of him into this summer and whether he bats at No 4 or opening, he will score runs,” Watson added.