Smith still trying to find the right balance

Ricky Ponting has heard Steve Smith shadow batting from 10 rooms away down their hotel corridor, but the man who may be Australia's most obsessive cricketer has no plans to change his routine, despite suggestions he might need to need to reduce his work-rate.

After a 12-month absence from the national side, Smith's astonishing dedication to his craft has, if anything, only increased - to the point where the Australians have, only half in jest, wondered whether he's overdoing it.

On his crusade for batting perfection, Smith is unfailingly the last to leave the training nets, hitting ball after ball after ball from teammates, net bowlers and, when they're all too tired, support staff armed with plastic throwing devices.

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And that's even before he gets to the middle. So single-minded is Smith that he has asked his batting partner to get off the pitch when they're at the non-striker's end.

"He doesn't like to have anything basically within miles of his view," said skipper Aaron Finch.

Coach Justin Langer has joked that Smith even practices cover drives in the shower.

It turns out that might not be all that far from the truth.

"I don’t know how he’s spying on me in the shower!" Smith said with a boyish grin. "Yeah, I’m known to play a few shots here and there.

"I always have a bat in my room and Ricky was actually rooming about ten rooms up from me the other day and said, ‘Were you batting at seven o’clock this morning?’

"He could hear me tapping on the ground.

"I said, ‘Yeah, I was actually.’"

Like it was before he was rubbed out of international cricket when he was the top-ranked Test batter in the world, Smith's regime seems to be working for him.

After posting a ton in a warm-up game against England last month, the 30-year-old struck his third half-century in four games to lead Australia to their fourth win of the tournament against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Saturday.

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But Langer and captain Aaron Finch have been wary of managing their charges during their World Cup defence, which, when their extended pre-tournament lead-in is factored in, lasts two months.

Assistant coach Ponting, a three-time World Cup-winner, has spoken about the importance of peaking at the back-end of the tournament.

Smith revealed there have been discussions about toning down his never-ending appetite for hitting cricket balls, but the batsman who's played over 200 games for his country stressed he knows when to "take the foot off the pedal".

"It’s been spoken about a little bit, but I think at the same time you’ve got to trust people’s preparation," said Smith.

"I’ve been around quite a while now and I’ve played a lot of cricket and you’ve got to trust the individual’s preparation and what they are trying to do.

"It’s one thing that’s I guess learned with experience and I’m reasonably experienced now and I’ve learned a bit over the last couple of years to sometimes just take the foot off the pedal in the nets and save myself up a little bit."

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Smith says the loss of the captaincy hasn't changed his routine or his approach to batting at all.

He does admit however that experience has helped teach him not to keep practicing just for the sake of it.

"I have always just loved batting and wanted to bat as much as I could in the nets," said Smith. "That probably played against me at times, batting too much in the nets and not freshening myself up.

"That's one thing I am learning as I am getting older, that balance of knowing to relax a bit.

"Especially if I am hitting the ball well, not just keep on hitting because it is fun. But having that balance so I am fresh out in the middle and ready to do the job that needs to be done."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge

June 25: England v Australia, Lord's

June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE