“They will do some funky things”: Steve Smith on England’s tactics ahead of 1st Ashes Test

London [UK], June 15 (ANI): Ahead of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Australian star batter Steve Smith said that he expects something “funky” from England bowlers and named a bowler that he and the Australian side are going to target.

Steve Smith is expecting to face some unusual bowling in the upcoming Ashes series against England, with the first Test taking place in Edgbaston from June 16 onwards, as per ICC.
The batter has a superb record against England and will likely face some highly-attacking fields and some unusual bowling tactics from a team that have been creative with their strategies under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.

But Smith told reporters in Birmingham on Wednesday that he is ready for whatever England has to throw at him.

“I think we have seen over the last 12 months they will do some funky things. They are going to have to try different things at certain times,” said Smith as quoted by ICC.

“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 is for sure,” he added.

Asked whether his dismissal in the second innings of the ICC World Test Championship Final (where he charged down the wicket to Ravindra Jadeja and sliced a catch into the covers) was a case of him “getting it out of his system” Smith joked that it was not his finest moment.

“It is a fair call, that is not my best shot and I thought I would cashed in a few tickets in the first innings as well,” he said.

“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 did not work out for me, but that happens in the game,” he added.

For Smith, turning the tables back on England is part of the plan, and the Aussie number four says that it changes the dynamic slightly to have Moeen Ali playing instead of the injured Jack Leach.

“Leachy’s (Leach) not here so they do not have a left-arm spinner, so it is a bit different, the ball is spinning in. I am sure there will be times facing Mo (Moeen) there will be times where we are a bit more aggressive and times where we bring it back,” he said.

Smith scored centuries in both innings to kick off the last Ashes series in impressive fashion at the same ground.

His opening day 144 at Edgbaston in 2019 set the tone for a series in which he scored a phenomenal 774 runs across seven innings.

“I think 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,” Smith said.

“It would be nice to repeat it again but I am just going to go out there and go through my routines and do what I need to do, and hopefully I can score some runs and help the team out.”

“Coming back here I have got some wonderful memories and some things I can draw from. However, I know it is a new series, it is a new year, a new Ashes, so I can draw on those experiences but not read too much into it.”

“You go to different grounds around the world that you have done well at and you can take some positives out of those and sort of move forward with them, but ultimately it is another game,” he said.

Smith goes into the first Test at Edgbaston as the second-highest ranked player in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings and one of a trio of Australians at the top of that list.

And the 34-year-old is full of praise for his team-mates Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head.

“I think it is cool to see us all at the top of the tree. I think those two in particular, the improvements they have made over the last four or five years have been exceptional,” said Smith.

“We all do it completely differently, obviously Trav comes out and plays very aggressively and takes the game on. It is sort of a ‘see ball, hit ball’ mentality.”

“Marnus and I probably think our way through situations a little bit differently, but it is cool to see the hard work of those guys pay off and for them to get themselves up there in the rankings,” he concluded.

The Ashes fixtures

First Test: June 16 – June 20, Edgbaston

Second Test: June 28 – July 2, Lord’s

Third Test: July 6 – July 10, Headingley

Fourth Test: July 19 – July 23, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: July 27 – July 31, The Oval

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Moeen Ali, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.