The Ashes are now coming closer, and Australia is facing injury woes. Pat Cummins is expected to miss out on the first Test, and if his injury worsens, he will miss out on the series. This puts Australia without a captain in the series, looking forward to the contenders. For this, S
as the best option.
Smith has maintained an impressive record as a captain in the Ashes. Moreover, he also has experience while leading the team, as he was captain across all three formats of the game. Recently, Smith talked about the role of captaincy, along with various other things, in an interview.
1. Smith on Captaincy
With Pat Cummins likely to miss out on the first Test of the Ashes, Steven Smith is expected to lead the team. His record as a captain has been pretty impressive, as he helped Australia to be at the top across formats.
, Smith talked about his record as a captain. He said, “It’s interesting how the brain works. I think my record when I’m captain is probably better than it is when I’m not. I feel like I go to another level and try to set a standard.” The words of Smith cannot be declined by any cricket fan, as he holds much experience while being the skipper of the team.
Steven Smith’s Test Captaincy Record:
- Matches: 40
- Wins: 23
- Losses: 10
- Draw: 7
- Win/Loss Ratio: 2.30
He has led the Australian team in the Test format since 2014, and the team won both home and away games under his leadership. Over the last few years, Cummins has surely taken over Smith as a captain. But fans could never forget the times when Smith led the Australian team in the white jersey.
Pic Source: myKhel
Along with that, it is clear that his record being the skipper of the team has been great. If he leads the team in the Ashes, Smith will be able to showcase how he leads well from the front. Also, with the Ashes being played in Australia, he will receive the home turf advantage, which will help to score more runs against the English bowlers.
Steven Smith as a Test Captain:
- Innings: 69
- Not Out: 9
- Runs: 4139
- Average: 68.98
- Strike Rate: 55.32
- 100s: 17
- 50s: 14
On the other hand, when Smith was not the captain of the team, his records were not that impressive. His average when not leading the side remains at 49.90, which shows that Smith as a captain proves to be a better option for the Australian team. Since he has also shown interest in the same, there are chances fans could watch Smith leading the team yet again.
2. Smith Speaks on Konstas
Talking about the squad for the Ashes, which is yet to be announced, Smith also discussed the potential batsmen for the team. For this, he discussed the name of Sam Konstas, who made waves for the team in his debut against India. As his debut was promising, Smith also
for the young talent.
In the conference, he talked about Konstas and how the young talent has proven himself in the Test format. It is still not confirmed whether he will be a part of the Australian team in the Ashes, but Smith remains positive about the same. He also talked about how fluently Konstas is able to face the pacers, and also noted the fact that he has a lot of time to establish himself.
Sam Konstas in Tests:
- Innings: 10
- Not Out: 0
- Runs: 163
- Average: 16.30
- Strike Rate: 56.40
- 100s: 0
- 50s: 1
These would surely be some words of wisdom for the young talent, as he looks forward to being a part of the Australian side in the Ashes. Smith also mentioned that his phone is always open, and he is ready to talk with Konstas about batting. It will be beneficial for Sam Konstas, too, if he talks with Smith and finds out the improvements he needs to
Despite his performances against India, Konstas has not been able to find rhythm in the remaining games he played for the team. This puts his place in the team as questionable. Even in the first-class matches, it was seen that Sam Konstas struggled against Scott Boland. Over the last five matches, Boland was able to take the wicket of Konstas in four of them.