‘No thanks’: Don’t give Smith a helping hand, counties told

A STORM is brewing over Steve Smith’s reported plan to play English county cricket before next year’s highly anticipated Ashes series.

It has been reported in England that Smith is keen to play three or four county games to warm up for what could be his fourth and final Ashes tour.

England skipper Ben Stokes trod carefully when addressing the issue at a media conference but his final point expressed his reservations about it.

“It’s good for the county game to see players of Steve’s calibre want to come over and play,’’ Stokes said.

“But I don’t know. It’s one of those where you probably prefer them not to get any game time in England before the Ashes. It is what it is.’’

Leading cricket scribe Paul Newman from the Daily Mail took a stronger stance, claiming England was traditionally too kind to batsmen from rival nations, particularly Australia.

“Let’s roll out the welcome mat, just like we always seem to have done for the opposition ahead of big series so they can get used to those unique English conditions of the moving Dukes ball on sporting pitches,’’ Newman wrote.

“Just like we did for up-andcoming batter Marnus Labuschagne

when he warmed up for what became his starring role, initially as a concussion substitute for Smith, in the 2019 Ashes with a stint at Glamorgan. And how we did for Cameron Bancroft when he lined up for Durham before featuring in the first Test of that series.’

“Or, for once, maybe not. “Maybe English cricket should think of itself and not give Australia’s best batter a helping hand before taking on a resurgent England side.

“Every county should say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ to Smith.’’

It is a trend that bemused Trevor Bayliss when he was England coach.

‘Mate, you won’t find Sheffield Shield teams rushing to sign England players before an Ashes series in Australia, that’s for sure,’ Bayliss told Newman last year.