Is This a Warning Sign for England Ahead of The Ashes 2025?
Steven Smith has started his preparations for the Ashes 2025. Being the skipper of the team, he has sent some warning signs to England ahead of the first game. He marked his comeback in the Sheffield Shield, scoring a ton.
Steven Smith has started his preparations for the Ashes 2025. Being the skipper of the team, he has sent some warning signs to England ahead of the first game. He marked his comeback in the Sheffield Shield, scoring a ton.
Steven Smith has started preparing for the Ashes, which is set to take place from 21st November. Smith is also the skipper of the team for the first game, as he has been announced as a replacement for Pat Cummins. For this, it is also necessary for him for the series and give his best.
Smith marked his return to the Sheffield Shield for New South Wales. Playing for the team after a long time, he ensured that his form was there all the time. On his return to the team, Steven Smith ended up scoring a century in the game. With this, he is also giving warning signs to the English bowlers for the same.
1. Smith's Sheffield Shield Comeback
In order to be ready for the Ashes, Steven Smith knew he would have to focus on his involvement in the game. He has not played for the last few months in the Australian team, as he is just a part of the Test team. For this, he marked his comeback for New South Wales in the tournament and played the game for them.
On his comeback, Smith was able to score 118 runs off 176 balls. Having a dominant form against the Australian bowlers at tough conditions like The Gabba shows that Smith is now ready for the English challenge. Being the skipper of the team for the first match, for him to regain his momentum.
He represented New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield. In his comeback game, Smith went against Queensland, as his team was batting first. With Sam Konstas being dismissed cheaply, Smith decided to handle the job on his own. He also received support from Kurtis Patterson, who stood at the other end.
Smith ended up scoring 118 runs off 176 balls in the first innings of the game. He made this with the help of 20 fours and one six, showcasing that he is now all set for the Ashes and ready to lead the team once again from the front.
2. Smith's Captaincy Return
With Steven Smith returning as a captain, it must be shocking news to the English team. He holds a considerable amount of experience as the captain, having led the side across several games. Moreover, he has also maintained a win-to-loss ratio of 2.30, which shows how superior
Being a captain, Smith also holds a tremendous record against England. Throughout his captaincy stint, Smith has led Australia across six games in the Ashes. But it should be noted that he has not lost even a single game, winning five of them in a draw.
Moreover, it is also seen that his average and performances improve when he is the skipper of the team. Steven Smith has his average lying below 50 when he is not the skipper. But this increases and goes close to 70 when he is the captain of the team.
3. Smith in the 2017 Ashes
The 2017-18 Ashes would be the one which every Australian fan would remember. England visited Australia for a five-match Test series, and thought of performing well and giving competition to the Aussies. With Smith being the captain of the team, he decided to let Australia take the upper hand.
Australia ended up winning the series 4-0, and England was not even able to secure a single win. In the first Test, Smith received the POTM award for scoring 141 runs off 326 balls. Moreover, this match was also being played at The Gabba, which is the same ground where Smith notched a hundred lately in the Sheffield Shield.
The second game of the series didn't go in his favour, as Smith was dismissed for just 40 and 6 runs across both innings. However, his comeback was stronger in the third game, as he ended up scoring 239 runs for the team, which helped Australia to win by a huge margin. This also helped Smith to get his second POTM award in just three games.
Smith brought another century in the fourth game, but unfortunately, it ended in a draw. In the final game, he scored 83 runs, making every game count for him. He ended up being the top run scorer for the series with 687 runs in 7 innings at an average of 137.40.
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