Smith gets back to the grind in search for his best form

Steven Smith cut a familiar figure at Australia's optional training session at the WACA ground on Monday.

It started at 1.30pm on the dot, and there was Smith, the first and only player out there on the lone centre-wicket net with coach Andrew McDonald and bowling coach Daniel Vettori carrying their trusty side-arms.

While the bowlers and Australia's two World Cup heroes Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh took the full day off, Smith was doing what Smith does. Grinding. Getting into the Test match rhythm. Honing his defence. His leave. Receiving an abnormally high volume of throws compared to his team-mates.

"It was a good hit out," Smith said before training at Perth Stadium on Tuesday. "It was nice to use the centre-wicket out at the WACA. Usually, it's pretty similar in terms of pace and bounce to what we get out here. I feel like I'm hitting the ball nicely so it's good prep and I'll get another hit in today. See how we go. I might come tomorrow if I feel I need it. If not, I'll put the feet up and get ready for Thursday."

The end is near in Test cricket for David Warner, and there has been speculation about whether Smith will follow suit sooner rather than later. But his love of the grind and his desire to get better show no signs of abating and he's making no noises about pulling the pin any time soon.

"I'm not in any hurry to make any decisions," Smith said.

The start of the Test summer in Australia has been dominated by talk of who will eventually replace Warner, and whether Lance Morris might debut.

But whether Smith will return to his otherworldly run-scoring ways is a question lingering in the background. In a year of extraordinary team triumphs, Smith has been below his own exceptionally high standards. It is something he admits.

He failed to score a half-century on the Test tour of India. A series return that would have been unthinkable prior to the tour given his outrageous performance in the 2017 series. His magnificent century in the World Test Championship final should not be forgotten or undervalued, but it was overshadowed by Head.

That hundred sounded ominous warning signs to England ahead of the Ashes series. Their 2019 PTSD became real again at Lord's with another flawless away Ashes century. But a wrist injury curtailed him from there although he fought through for two two half-centuries in the final Test at The Oval in a losing cause.

The wrist tendon issue impacted his preparation for the ODI World Cup. He was a passenger rather than a leading man in Australia's remarkable run to the title. His reluctance to buy in to Australia's ultra-aggressive method caused him to be shifted from No. 3 to No. 4, much to his displeasure.

He also stayed for the T20I series against India to try and make his case to remain in Australia's plans for next year's T20 World Cup but did not dispel the doubts about whether he is fit for purpose to be an opener in that tournament.

But his value to Australia's Test side remains as high as ever. Even in a mediocre year, he has contributed three centuries and two half-centuries in 20 innings. A calendar year average of 43.16 is Australia's fourth-best by some margin behind Usman Khawaja, Head and the small sample size of Marsh. But it's well below his dizzying career mark. That has dipped from 61.62 this time last year, after the last Perth Test against West Indies where he peeled off an unbeaten double century, to 58.61, his lowest mark since the start of Pakistan's 2016-17 tour.

He knows he's been below his best and, as ever, one of Test cricket's great problem-solvers has his eyes on ensuring normal service resumes.

"Just score runs," Smith said. "I don't have to sort of reinvent the wheel. I think I've performed at a high standard for a long period of time. You're right, I was probably below my standards of what I want. So, for me, it's not overthinking it, not overplaying too much, not changing too much. Just going out and trusting what I do and doing it for longer periods of time hopefully to get the big runs and hopefully help our team as success."

He was back in the nets Tuesday grinding away again. Facing Australia's big quicks. Facing McDonald's throws. Australia's original 'Mr Cricket' Michael Hussey had been called in to help the coaching staff handle the throwing workload at training.

Smith's team-mates were copping blows on the spicy green-tinged surfaces. Middle stumps were knocked back. Outside edges were taken. Smith looked impenetrable despite a blow on the gloves, batting until he was told others needed a turn. He sat and waited until his team-mates got their work in before returning for more throwdowns.

His hunger for batting remains insatiable.