Australian pitches will provide a different challenge for England’s batters in this winter’s Ashes, says Steve Smith.
The first Ashes Test begins in Perth on 21 November, a highly-anticipated series after the thrilling draw in 2023, with England looking to regain the urn for the first time since 2015.
Former captain Smith, who is representing Welsh Fire in this year’s Hundred, averages 56.01 in Tests against England but is expecting a tougher challenge for batters this time around.
“Their batters are going to be challenged a little bit differently to the wickets they have had over in England for a while, which have looked pretty flat and good for batting,” Smith told BBC Sport.
“The wickets in Australia in the last three or four years have been very tricky for top order batters. It is going to be a good challenge for them.
“But it’s going to be a wonderful series. I have been watching the India and England series and there has been some great cricket played there, so I think the Ashes this year is going to be an absolute belter.”
Smith, 36, also said the respective pace attacks were the strength for both teams. Australia’s top order struggled in the recent series against West Indies on bowler-friendly surfaces where the highest team total was 286 across three Tests.
And despite plenty of recent chat around Mitchell Starc, 35, Josh Hazlewood, 34, and Scott Boland, 36, coming to the end of their Test careers, the three combined to skittle West Indies for just 27 earlier this month – a performance so dominant that their skipper and fellow quick Pat Cummins did not bowl an over in the innings.
However, Smith has also noted a change of approach from England in comparison to the 2023 series which was only a year into Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s time in charge.
“They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be,” Smith added.
“They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously.”
