Smith is man ‘on a mission’ with first Ashes Test looming
Sixteen months after leaving Test cricket in disgrace over the ball-tampering furore, Steve Smith’s preparations for the Ashes have gone up to a manic level as the former captain looks to return to red ball cricket in top form.
Australia captain Tim Paine said Smith had given batting coach Graeme Hick long and taxing work-outs in the nets as he looks to hone his formidable game ahead of the Ashes opener in Birmingham on August 1. Renowned for his obsessive approach to training, Smith is back in the Test squad along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the other two players hit with long bans for their involvement in the Cape Town scandal.
“You don’t become one of the best players in the world and average 60 in Test cricket if you don’t have some sort of a mission,” Paine said of Smith at the team’s training base in Southampton.
“The boys have been having a bit of a laugh the last couple of days because nothing’s changed – he’s hit a million balls and our coach’s arm is falling off already on day two of the trip. It’s great to see that him, and David [Warner] and Cameron Bancroft have come back in and fitted perfectly in our group.
“They are guys who have always trained at exceptionally high standards and set the standard for others. The three of them have been outstanding since they’ve been back.”
Australia are bidding to retain the urn and erase the disappointment of their one-day World Cup campaign, which ended in the semi-finals at the hands of hosts and eventual champions England.
Australia will play a four-day intra-squad match starting today, with two sides padded out by Australia A players. “Both sides will be looking to win and both sides will have individual players wanting to do really well to press their final case for Ashes selection,” Paine said. “At the moment, it’s a fair dinkum game of cricket and that’s been made really clear.
“We’re looking at it as a real opportunity to test each other’s skills so when we get to the first Test we know exactly where we’re at.” Top order batsman Usman Khawaja, who suffered a hamstring strain during the semi-final, is being rested but Paine said he was expected to be fully fit for Edgbaston.
“I don’t think he’s in serious doubt [for the Test],” Paine said. “He’s in a rehab stage so the decision has been made that he won’t play at this stage.
“There is a possibility, maybe, if something were to happen to someone else, he might be right for the back end of the [practice] game.”