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Steve Smith warns England’s batters about tough conditions in the Ashes but praised Joe Root’s form but highlights Australia’s experienced bowlers.
Steve Smith. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Premier Australian batter Steve Smith has cautioned England’s batters about the challenging conditions in this year’s Ashes, with the experienced Aussie bowling attack expected to test them rigorously.
The five-Test Ashes series begins in Perth on November 21, and England, renowned for their ultra-aggressive Bazball approach, are anticipated to perform well in Australia. England’s recent Test series resulted in a 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India at home.
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“I’ve watched a lot of the series against India and I think it was one of the best Test series I’ve seen for a long time. The cricket that was played by both teams was outstanding. So, I think England have a good side at the moment. They’re obviously playing a really aggressive brand of cricket, and I think coming down to Australia, particularly for their batters, it’s going to be a big challenge.
“I think the wickets in the last three or four years have been really tricky. We’ve obviously got a very experienced bowling lineup with guys that have played for a long period of time and been extremely successful. So I’m looking forward to the summer.
“I think it’s going to be a great series. I know that last Ashes was during Covid-19 and the Barmy Army and stuff couldn’t come down. So the atmosphere is going to be entirely different. We love playing in front of big crowds and hostile crowds on both sides. So it’s going to be good fun,” Smith was quoted as saying to Sky Sports while playing for Welsh Fire in The Hundred.
What Did Steve Smith Say About Joe Root?
In England’s batting line-up, Joe Root is considered crucial to their chances of regaining the Ashes, despite not yet scoring a Test century in Australia. Root has accumulated 13,543 Test runs and is just 2,378 runs shy of Sachin Tendulkar’s record. Smith praised Root’s recent ability to convert fifties into big hundreds.
“I think not just in that series, the last probably two years he’s just been incredible. His ability to make big scores, go from 50 to 100, which was probably one thing that he got caught in that 50 to 100 spot for quite a while. Now he’s just making it count and going on and making huge scores. So, I think he hasn’t scored a 100 in Australia.
“I think that’s been talked about quite a lot. I’m sure that’s something that he wants to tick off his bucket list as well. So, like I said, it’s going to be tricky for batting, particularly for top order batters. From an Australian point of view, hopefully he doesn’t get 100 this summer, but I know that he’ll be working hard towards it.”
Smith emphasised that Australia will focus on relying on their skills to win the series against England.
“I think the way we’ve played our cricket the last while is just trying to let our skills do the talking. We’ve played really good cricket in the last four years in Test cricket, making two World Test Championship finals. So, we’re doing a lot of things right. For us, it’s just letting our skills take over. We know the Australian conditions well, obviously. Hopefully our skills are better than England’s.”
Asked if there was any England bowler he feared facing, Smith dismissed such concerns. “No fears here. As a player, you like competing against the best.
“So, no fears here. Just looking forward to what’s going to be a cool series, particularly with two really good fast bowling attacks going at it. Plenty of good batters on both sides, and it’s going to be a wonderful series.
(With inputs from IANS)
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A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
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