When the Ashes started at Edgbaston in 2019 Steve Smith produced innings of 144 and 142 on his way to an average of 110.57 in the five Tests. As he prepares for a new series to start at the same venue on Friday, the 34‑year‑old has said he is a better player now than the one who haunted England’s bowlers four years ago.
Edgbaston is home of the famously raucous Hollies Stand, with the atmosphere possibly contributing to the fact that of all the home grounds where they have played more than six matches it is England’s most successful: they have won 53.7% of 54 Tests here. But Smith said he remembers nothing of the noise – “I sort of blocked it all out and just went about my business” – and that for him the ground holds only positive memories.
“That Test match is probably my favourite out of my career so far, given the circumstances and the importance of a first Ashes Test, particularly away from home,” he said.
“I’ve got some wonderful memories and some things I can draw on. I know it’s a new series – you go to different grounds around the world that you’ve done well at and you can take some positives out of those [memories] and move forward with them, but ultimately it’s another game.”
The International Cricket Council considered Smith the world’s fourth‑best Test batter in 2019 but he comes into this series at No 2, the meat in an all-Australian ranking sandwich between Marnus Labuschagne at No 1 and Travis Head at No 3 (the last time one team hogged the top three in the batting charts was when West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd and Larry Gomes ruled the world in 1984).
“I hope I’m better,” Smith said. “I strive every day to be better so I hope that I’m a better player. I think my Ashes series before that back home [in 2017-18, when he averaged 137.40] was reasonable as well so I’ve had a couple of good ones. It would be nice to repeat it, but I’m just going to go out there and go through my routines and do what I need to do. Hopefully I can score some runs and help the team out.”
This will be Smith’s fourth Ashes series in England and he is yet to win one, with defeats in 2013 and 2015 followed by a draw in 2019. “Ashes series are what you’re judged on,” he said. “Last time we came over here we got close to winning – the next best result was drawing and we did that. But it’s certainly something I’ve wanted to tick off my bucket list in my career, and I know it’s the same for a lot of the other boys as well.”
Smith promised Australia would “give it a good hot crack”, saying that though they were working on plans to counteract England’s anticipated positive approach they had no intention of “trying to keep up with their fast-paced game”.
“I’m sort of getting in my mind different things that they’ll come up with and how I’m likely to play it,” he said. “I think we’ve seen in the last 12 months, they do some funky things. I think one of my big strengths is being able to adapt on the go, to understand what they’re trying to do and solve the problem out there in the middle. I’ll just focus on my game and try and counter each thing they come up with – but we’re expecting some different stuff, that’s for sure.”
Given the recent hot, dry weather and the nature of the pitch – Smith described “a fair amount of grass albeit it was quite dead grass … quite furry but not really live grass” – spin may come to play a crucial role in this Test. “There’ll be times when we put a bit more pressure on and times when we just have to absorb it,” Smith said of facing Moeen Ali, who returns to the England side after an absence of nearly two years. “Some of the fields they set, with players up and things like that, might allow us to be aggressive and get away with it at times.”
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England have had similar thoughts about the Australian spinner, the considerably more match-honed Nathan Lyon. “If he bowls a good ball then I’m going to respect it,” Harry Brook said. “Other than that, I’m going to try and take him on. He could get a lot of wickets, but hopefully we’re going to hit him for a lot of runs.”
Brook spent some of the training session on Tuesday bowling his medium‑pacers in the nets – “It’s an option for Stokesy if the other boys are knackered,” he said – but more encouraging for England was the apparent fluency with which Ben Stokes bowled.
“In my opinion he’s the best all‑rounder in the world and has been for many years now,” Brook said. “So to have him back on the park and bowling quick is a big boost for us.”
