Steve Smith's Test struggles as opener continued in the Christchurch match against New Zealand.

Steve Smith's opening woes continued after Australia's star batter fell cheaply in their chase against New Zealand in the second Test in Christchurch on Sunday.

Smith was trapped leg-before for nine by Kiwi seamer Matt Henry as Australia set out to chase a 279-run target after bowling the hosts out for 372. Smith was undone by the nip-backer as the ball crashed into the top of middle-stump, following his streak of poor displays since moving up to the top of the batting order after David Warner's retirement. The 34-year-old had earlier fallen leg-before in the first innings in similar fashion with debutant Ben Sears tailing a delivery in sharply with Smith shouldering arms as the ball thudded the pads. Regarded as the leading Test batter of the modern era, Smith whose overall average stands a shade under 57 for 9665 runs, has struggled to adjust to the new role. Average debate Smith's scores since the West Indies series as an opener read: 12, 11, 6, 91*, 31, 0, 11 and 9 -- averaging 28.50 for 171 runs.