If Smith was Indian, his technique would be accepted: coach Woodhill

Lamenting Australian cricket's "aversion" to embrace unconventional styles, Steve Smith's formative coach Trent Woodhill observed that his famous ward's uniqueness would be accepted in the Indian system, where it is "all about the output".

Days after Smith redefined the art of run-scoring in an Ashes series that belonged to him, Woodhill said uniqueness and unorthodox styles should be celebrated.

"If Steven was Indian, his technique and mechanics and the strategy around his batting would just be accepted," Woodhill was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

"We see Kohli, Gavaskar, (Rohit) Sharma, Ganguly, Sehwag - all these players have unique techniques. The Indian system is all about output, about scoring runs, 'We don't care how you do it as long as you do it', whereas in Australia we wanted you to score well and we wanted you to look good."
"In Australia we struggle with things that are different. We like a sexy Shaun Marsh thirty, made with a conventional, attractive technique, rather than an unconventional Steven Smith hundred."