Smith wants no slogging early in NZ ODI

Australia went too hard with the bat at Eden Park in the World Cup, with Steve Smith vowing they will be more conservative at the venue this week.

Australia have gone back to basics as they seek to avoid another Eden Park capitulation, honing their forward defence in Auckland.

Australia were humbled by New Zealand swing king Trent Boult during their most-recent visit to the venue, collapsing to 9-106 last year during the Cricket World Cup.

All the talk in the lead-up to that match was of monster totals and Eden Park's short straight boundaries.

It was at the forefront of the way Australia played - and trained the preceding week.

Windows were broken and balls peppered the grandstand of the adjacent No.2 oval as batsmen practised their lofted drive in the middle.

This time around, it's been a traditional run-in, with Steve Smith vowing to take a more-conservative approach in Wednesday's trans-Tasman ODI series opener.

"You can't go out there and go hard from ball one - you have to give yourself a chance," Smith said.

"That's what I've been talking to the batters about the last couple of days - make sure you're doing that, knowing we can make up a lot of the runs in the back end on these small grounds."

The forward defence is somewhat of a forgotten art in a world where 300 has become the par ODI score on most surfaces.

But it will be an essential part of Australia's arsenal should they wish to lift the Chappell-Hadlee trophy after clashes in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton.

"The start of your innings here in New Zealand, you really have to back your defence," Smith said.

"Guys have been working hard on their defence and, hopefully, it works for them tomorrow.

"Give yourselves a chance to get in. When you do that, things will get a lot easier."

Boult, who claimed 5-27 in that World Cup pool match, is expected to again give Smith and his top order a thorough workout.

Australia have had scant time to adapt to local conditions following a busy end to their home summer against India.

Smith is confident that won't be an excuse in the ODI series.

"We'll be fine; we've played a lot of cricket. We've just come off a one-day series back home," Smith said.

"The guys know about adapting to conditions - we need to do it a lot better.

"New Zealand have some very good swing bowlers ... the ball tends to swing around for a lot longer."

As for the ground itself, Smith observed batsmen from both sides were capable of "clearing huge boundaries, let alone these quite small (55m) ones here at Eden Park".


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Source: AAP



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