Misbah-ul-Haq: “No doubt Steve Smith is a top player in Test cricket, especially after his performance in the Ashes and the way he played against us in the T20s”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted that Australia batsman Steve Smith is a “top player in Test cricket”.

Misbah’s comments come ahead of Pakistan’s two-Test series against Australia, which begins on November 21 in Brisbane.

Smith is coming into the series on a high as he starred in Australia’s Ashes series against England, where he was the top scorer with 774 runs in four matches, which included three centuries and three fifties, at an average of 110.57.

He followed that up with 66 runs in the three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, which included a half-century, at an average of 66 and a strike-rate of 146.66.

In the three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan, he scored an unbeaten 80 in the one innings he played.

“No doubt Steve Smith is a top player in Test cricket, especially after his performance in the Ashes and the way he played against us in the T20s,” Misbah told cricket.com.au. “He’s a tough opponent. He has less weak areas where you can bowl and get him out, he’s an immensely important player for Australia and the backbone of their batting.”

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