Ponting ponders new role for Australia star at Champions Trophy

ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting believes Australia should consider using star batter and stand-in captain Steve Smith in an unfamiliar role as opener at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Ponting was speaking about Australia's current injury woes with host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review, with regular skipper Pat Cummins, fellow fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood, all-rounders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh, plus even recently-retired all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (retired from ODIs) all missing from their 15-player squad for the event.

While Travis Head looks certain to feature in Australia's top-order at the Champions Trophy, Ponting thinks promoting Smith up from his regular role at No.4 is something selectors may be considering ahead of their first match at the tournament against England in Lahore on February 22.

It's a role Smith has relished domestically in T20 cricket, for the Sydney Sixers in Australia's domestic Big Bash League, which recently included a searing 121* off 64 balls against the Perth Scorchers in January.

From 151 ODI innings for Australia, Smith has batted everywhere from third in the line-up right down to eighth, but has never opened.

The decision centres around the faith Australian selectors have in talented hitter Jake Fraser-McGurk, who is still yet to deliver on the promise he's shown in recent years.

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Fraser-McGurk averages just 14 from the seven innings he's played in ODIs, since making his debut in February 2024, with a top score of 41 off 18 deliveries against the West Indies in Canberra. Six of those seven innings were as an opener.

“Yeah, he's making it harder and harder (for selectors to stick with Fraser-McGurk),” Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

“He's not had the greatest of summers. I mean, there's just so much talent there. There's so much ability and skill and talent that we haven't sort of seen consistently enough just yet. And that's one of the big calls (selectors) are going to have to make now as well.

“Do they think about opening the batting with Steve Smith, which is something that they could actually think about as well, I think, because of how well he's done in white ball cricket when he has opened the batting.

“(Smith) could be someone that could be an anchor through this Champions Trophy at the top of the order. And you know that with the form that he's in, he's going to make big runs.

“And Jake's the sort of player that if he does play at his best… he could win a tournament (for Australia). That's what the Australians, I think, would be saying. The coaches would be saying that to him. We'll see which way they decide to go at the start of the tournament.”

There are also fast bowling roles up for grabs, with the big trio of Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood all unavailable. And Ponting has backed rising star Spencer Johnson to conveniently slot in as Starc’s understudy.

Left-armed Johnson, somewhat of a late bloomer at 29 years of age, has only had a minor taste of international 50-over cricket - three matches with a career best of 2/44 off seven overs against Sri Lanka recently.

Notably, he took 5/26 from four overs against Pakistan in a T20I Sydney late last year, having represented Australia eight times in the shortest format.

“Spencer Johnson, I think, is someone that could have a real impact,” Ponting continued.

“I've been saying for the last couple of years that even in red-ball cricket or white ball cricket, whenever Starc is done, then we've got to make sure that we've got Spencer Johnson ready to go physically and the one-day (match) that he's just played, he looks like he's in good shape. We know he can bowl fast. He's a very similar type of bowler to Mitchell Starc. So I think he can have a big impact on the tournament.”