In Short
- Steve Smith said that England are going to do ‘funky things’ in the Ashes
- Smith has scored over 3000 runs against England
- The Edgbaston Test will start on June 16
By India Today Sports DeskSteve Smith said that Australia are ready to face the ‘funky things’ that England are planning to do in the upcoming Ashes. Earlier, Ben Stokes, the English skipper, mentioned that the hosts would not shy away from playing aggressive cricket.
Ever since Stokes took charge as skipper and Brendon McCullum replaced Chris Silverwood as their head coach, the face of English Test cricket has changed drastically. Smith said that the Aussies are pretty aware of what’s to come in the five-match series.
“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,” Smith was quoted as saying to the reporters.
Smith has an outstanding record against England, having scored 3044 runs from 32 matches at an average of 59.68 with 11 hundreds and seven half-centuries.
“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,” he stated.
Smith recently played in the World Test Championship final against India at the Kennington Oval in London. In the second innings, he tried to charge down the track, but miscued one up in the air off Ravindra Jadeja.
“It’s a fair call, that’s not my best shot and I thought I’d cashed in a few tickets in the first innings as well. The game was getting to a point where I was trying to take it on a bit more and get that lead up and it didn’t work out for me, but that happens in the game,” Smith added.
The opening Test of the Ashes 2023 is scheduled to take place from June 16 at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.
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