Jason Holder's innovative around-the-wicket plan against Steve Smith — bowling into the rough outside leg stump — provided one of the 2019 series' most sophisticated bowling strategies against cricket's most technically gifted batsman, forcing Smith into specific defensive decisions he found unfamiliar.
Steve Smith's batting technique was built on unusual preparation — his shuffle took him across his stumps, ensuring his off stump was always covered. Right-arm bowlers targeting off stump found this technique impossible to breach conventionally. From around the wicket, the angle changed and Smith's preparation could leave him marginally exposed.
Jason Holder was both West Indies captain and their best bowler — 6ft 7 of seam bowling intelligence who thought carefully about how to dismiss each batsman.
West Indies and Australia met in a series where Smith was returning to cricket after his 12-month ban. He was rusty in the first few Tests. Holder planned to capitalise on that rustiness and maintain it by changing angles and targeting the leg-stump rough.
Jason Holder identified that Steve Smith's unusual footwork — which protected his off stump brilliantly against conventional angles — left him slightly more exposed to deliveries from around the wicket targeting his legs from a different angle. Holder bowled from around the wicket, aiming for the rough outside leg stump, creating awkward angles Smith had to play against. In the 2019 series, this approach contributed to Smith being dismissed in several innings below his usual high standard. Holder showed tactical sophistication that his raw pace numbers might not suggest — his captain's intelligence was as important as his physical tools.
Holder bowls from around the wicket at Smith — Smith's footwork slightly misaligned against the angle
Smith plays a ball he would normally drive straight and edges to slip — dismissed for 34
Second Test: Holder's angle creates LBW possibility; Smith misses straight ball for 38
Smith scores 144 in the third Test — adapting to the angle and countering Holder's plan
Series: competitive; West Indies win opening Test; Australia win series 2-1
2019-07-03
First Test: Holder's around-the-wicket plan dismisses Smith below his standard
2019-07-12
Second Test: LBW dismissal through Holder's line — plan continues working
2019-07-25
Third Test: Smith scores 144 — adapts successfully; Australia win series 2-1
“Steve Smith is uniquely difficult to bowl to. The around-the-wicket angle was my best option to create a different problem for him.”
“Jason is smart and tall. Around the wicket creates awkward angles. I had to adjust through the series and eventually found answers.”
Both players continued their careers in excellent form. Smith went on to the 2019 Ashes — where he scored 774 runs — confirming that once he settled, no attack troubled him consistently. Holder remained West Indies' most dependable all-rounder through 2022.
Their 2019 series encounters were a microcosm of the tactical complexity at the heart of Test cricket — a captain-bowler targeting a specific batsman's unique technique.
Holder's plan troubled Smith to a genuine degree — Smith averaged below his usual exceptional level against the West Indian attack. But Smith's overall quality eventually produced innings that negated the specific strategy. Honours were roughly even.
Holder's around-the-wicket plan against Smith contributed to a broader understanding that Smith's technique, while brilliant, was not completely bulletproof — that angles from different delivery positions could create vulnerability even for the world's best technician.
Australia vs Pakistan
22 November 1981
Dennis Lillee kicked Javed Miandad on the field, prompting Miandad to raise his bat as if to strike Lillee. Umpire Tony Crafter intervened to separate them.
New Zealand vs West Indies
12 February 1980
Michael Holding kicked the stumps out of the ground in frustration after an LBW appeal was turned down against John Parker.
West Indies vs Australia
28 April 1995
Curtly Ambrose got in Steve Waugh's face after being told to go back to his mark. Richie Richardson had to pull Ambrose away. Ambrose then bowled a devastating spell.