Allrounder Steve Smith says runs, not wickets, will be the key to him nailing down a regular place in Australia’s national cricket side.

Smith, who had played Test, one-day and Twenty20 cricket for Australia by the age of 21, has proven capable with both bat and ball over the past three years.

But after missing out on a spot in Australia’s World T20 squad, the 23-year-old is seeking to climb up NSW’s batting order and make his name as a batsman.

“Runs are more my priority at the moment, I’m working really had on my batting. I believe to get back into the team – it’s through my batting, with my bowling there as well,” Smith said on Wednesday.

“Getting the runs on the board, and getting a big number of runs on the board, is going to be crucial for me.”

To do that, he’s hoping to make the most of a reshaped NSW batting line-up that will be minus openers Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja, who both left the state in the off-season.

“I’d like to bat higher. I’m trying to bat as high as I can in this order, I think the higher you can bat in the Shield team,” Smith said.

” … if you’re doing well there, the better off you’re going to be batting anywhere in the Test line-up or any other line-up.”

Smith said he’s received no feedback from Australia’s national selectors that concentrating on his batting would be a wise move.

But the writing was seemingly on the wall when chief selector John Inverarity recalled Smith earlier this year after he was overlooked for the Australian summer.

“The national selection panel is keen to have him in the set-up in England as the reserve batsman, noting that his legspinners would provide good variation to our attack,” Inverarity said of Smith’s promotion for the UK series.

Inverarity, later when announcing Australia’s squad for the upcoming T20 tournament in Sri Lanka, noted Smith was on the cusp of selection but clean-hitting batsman Cameron White was preferred.