Australian vice-captain Steve Smith has defended national batting coach Michael Di Venuto against criticism from former Test wicketkeeper Ian Healy, who claimed Australia’s batting performance had regressed under Di Venuto’s tenure since 2021. Smith, speaking to reporters in Bridgetown on Sunday, rejected Healy’s assessment while providing updates on his own finger injury recovery and potential return for the second Test against West Indies in St Georges. Smith dismissed Healy’s suggestion that Di Venuto should be under pressure for the team’s recent batting performances. “(Di Venuto’s) not the one out there actually doing the batting. Guys have to be able to figure it out themselves out in the middle sometimes. You can’t have someone holding your hand out there,” Smith said.
Smith further defended Di Venuto’s capabilities and contribution to the team. “He works as hard as anyone. He knows batting inside out. He’s seen cricket all around the world, and knows all the conditions. He’s done a wonderful job for a long time now, and the boys really enjoyed working with him,” Smith stated. The criticism from Healy came after Australia’s top order struggled in the first Test against West Indies, with Cameron Green scoring 3 and 15, and Josh Inglis making 5 and 12. “Australian cricket’s batting head coach and every state batting coach, should be under pressure because there’s not enough runs being scored around the nation either,” Healy told SEN.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? “Michael Di Venuto, a friend of mine who is a good coach and a good man has held the job since mid-2021. In this time, our national team batting has regressed in performance at the Test level,” Healy added. Statistics show a decline in the Test batting average of Australia’s top three from 45.94 in 2022 to 27.04 in 2025. Smith missed the first Test due to a compound dislocation in his finger during the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s. “I looked straight down and I was like, ‘That doesn’t look right. That looks pretty disgusting.’ I wasn’t sure of the extent of the damage,” Smith recalled about his injury. During his recovery in New York, Smith maintained his practice in a unique way.
“My mate actually told me about it. Underneath this bridge, there was a batting cage, and he was able to throw me a few balls there. It was nice to hit a few balls,” Smith said. Smith expects to return for the second Test, though with modified fielding positions due to his injury. “I don’t feel any pain or anything. It’s all feeling good, just getting used to the splint on and the slight, limited movement,” Smith said. “It’ll be just training as normal, and then probably fielding some balls in front of the wicket, which would probably be the strangest thing for me. I don’t think I’ve ever done that in a Test match,” he added. Smith also expressed support for struggling teammates Green and Sam Konstas. “These guys are good players. We’ve got to give them an opportunity, it doesn’t come around straight away. I think back to the start of my career, I think it took me 11 innings to score a hundred. It can take some time,” Smith said. The second Test between West Indies and Australia is scheduled to begin in St George’s on Thursday.
