John Hastings acknowledged that he can speak freely in the current Australian set up under Steven Smith than he could under his predecessor Michael Clarke. The 30-year-old all-rounder felt with the presence of "strong-headed" personalities in the squad at the time of his debut, including former captain Ricky Ponting and star batsman Michael Hussey, he was less likely to contribute to the team meetings. "I don't know whether it's because I was younger, I was a bit more afraid to speak my mind," Hastings told RSN radio on Thursday (February 18). Under Smith, Hastings feels, open communication and honesty are encouraged in team meetings. "For me, it's brilliant. I can just go in and no question's too dumb," Hastings said. "If you think you've seen something on the field, you bring it up." Hasting's only Test appearance was under Clarke's leadership, against South Africa in 2012. He was one of the more consistent performers with the ball during the One-Day international series against India, coming into the side from the second ODI and helping the side win the series 4-1. Subsequently, he was named in the Twenty20 International side, and despite below-par performances was picked in the ICC World Twenty20 squad. Hastings also acknowledged the fact that the team is now more coherent because they have played a lot of their junior cricket together. "These guys who are playing now have played together through under-19 World Cups," he said. "They've played against each other. They've played with each other. "It's actually a really close group of friends as well." The 30-year-old, however, cautioned that his team would need to gel well ahead of the World T20 in India in March-April and the series in South Africa would be used to "get the winning feeling back", after being humbled 3-0 by India at home.