Veteran Australian batter Steve Smith shared his confidence in overcoming the new approach of England that will likely be seen during the upcoming Ashes series. The first Test will begin at Edgbaston on Friday, June 16. However, England has made headlines for trying creative options with bat and ball to unsettle the opposition under the new captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum as well.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Ashes opener, Steve Smith said: “I think we’ve seen over the last 12 months they will do some funky things. They are going to have to try different things at certain times. For me, one of my big strengths has been adapting on the go, understanding what they are trying to do and solving the problem out there in the middle. I will just focus on my game and try to counter each thing they come at me with. We are expecting some different stuff, that’s for sure. Leachy’s not here so they don’t have a left-arm spinner, so it’s a bit different, the ball’s spinning in. I’m sure there will be times facing Mo there will be times where we’re a bit more aggressive and times where we bring it back,” said Smith.
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However, Steve Smith is coming off an amazing 121 in the first innings of Australia’s 209-run victory against India in the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) final as well. Meanwhile, he has an incredible record in England in his illustrious Test career, scoring 1,882 runs in 17 matches which came at an average of 60.70, including seven centuries as well.
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“I think that Test match is probably my favorite out of my career so far, given the circumstances and the importance of a first Ashes Test, particularly away from home. It would be nice to repeat it again but I’m just going to go out there and go through my routines and do what I need to do, and hopefully I can score some runs and help the team out. Coming back here I’ve got some wonderful memories and some things I can draw from. However, I know it’s a new series, it’s a new year, a new Ashes, so I can draw on those experiences but not read too much into it. You go to different grounds around the world that you’ve done well at and you can take some positives out of those and sort of move forward with them, but ultimately it’s another game,” Steve Smith concluded.
