Bridgetown, June 30 -- Australia's talismanic batter Steve Smith has come out in defence of batting coach Michael Di Venuto following backlash from former Test wicketkeeper Ian Healy, who claimed the Baggy Greens top-order has "regressed" in recent years during his "friend's" reign.

Smith linked up with the Australian team ahead of the second Test against the West Indies in Grenada after missing out on the series opener due to a compound dislocation to his small finger he sustained in the World Test Championship final at Lord's.

In the opening Test, Kensington Oval's strip, which played all sorts of tricks on the batters, Australia missed Smith's presence in the middle order. The WTC 2025 finalists were dwindling at 22/3 in the first in...