Smith runs a half marathon, happy to shave few minutes off

The lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak has seen sportspersons locked inside their houses in the last couple of months. But things have eased slightly Down Under and people are allowed to leave their houses while maintaining social distancing norms. And former Australia skipper Steve Smith has been working out to keep his fitness level up as the Aussie cricketers gear up to return to training in some days.

Taking to Twitter, Smith wrote: "I had a few people comment after last week that 21km is not a half marathon (I had no idea) so I completed my 21.10kms today and have now officially done a 1/2 marathon! It was nice to shave a few minutes off my... instagram.com/p/B_9x5FvpaLu/..."

Smith on Thursday came out with "some tips on batting" for budding cricketers. In a three-minute long video out on his Instagram page, Smith talked about "two authentic swings that each player has".

"Batting tips I've had lots of people asking me to share some hints and tips on batting. This video is on what I like to call the first authentic swing. I'll share the second authentic swing in a few days time. Let me what else you would like to see," he wrote along with the video.

The 30-year-old described two authentic swings as one which involves the top hand and helps in driving the ball straight down the ground and the other one which involves bottom hand, enabling the batsman to "smack the ball".

In the video, the former Australian skipper spoke about the importance of pointing the front foot in the direction where a batsman wants to hit the ball as it felicitates bending of front knee and get the head over the ball and play the shot in straight line.