Steven Smith has revealed that his rise from 'potential' to a superstar batsman of the game has been due to the influence of 'experienced' Italian-decent former Australia cricketer Michael Di Venuto.
Di Venuto, who played nine ODIs for Australia and 336 first-class matches for Tasmania, Durham, Derbyshire and Sussex, now plays for Italy and has been Australia's batting coach for the past two years.
Under De Venuto's direct tutelage, Smith and David Warner have risen to become genuine superstars of cricket, News.com.au reported.
Smith and Di Venuto established themselves in the Australian setup around the same time, ahead of the 2013 Ashes tour, and while Smith has since become the face of Australian cricket, Di Venuto remains in the shadows.
Smith believes that the veteran cricketer has had a massive impact on his own stunning improvement, which culminated in him sweeping the Allan Border Medal awards night following a summer in which the Australian scored six tons and four half-centuries across Test and one-day cricket.
Smith said that Di Venuto has been absolutely fantastic for not only him but all of Australia's batters, adding that his knowledge and experiences in the game are second to none.
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Smith claimed that Di Venuto has got so much experience to share with them, adding that he throws an endless amount of balls to them at training. He believes that the advice the Italian gives is outstanding as well.
Smith recalls the 2013 home Ashes series, saying that he didn't score runs in the first two Test matches and felt under a little bit of pressure. He claims that he went up and told Di Venuto that he feels like he is hitting the ball really well, so what's going on.
Smith said that Di Venuto replied that there is nothing wrong, and told him that he was not out of form, but just out of runs.
Smith claimed that that kind of made him stop thinking about his batting and let his natural instincts and natural flair take over, and since then it's been smooth sailing.