Steve Smith has warned his Australia side they cannot take anything for granted against an England side rocked by Ben Stokes’ arrest.
The England all-rounder’s place on the tour is in serious doubt following his arrest for fighting outside a Bristol nightclub last month. The side head into the series already with a number of unanswered questions — a very brittle top order being the main one — and playing their old enemy without their talisman would leave them facing an uphill struggle to keep the famous urn.
But Smith has told his teammates to underestimate the tourists at their peril.
“You know they have a really good side. They are quite experienced now,” the Australia captain told the BBC.
“With regards to their batting, Alastair Cook and Joe Root are their two big players that we need to keep quiet. James Anderson and Stuart Broad are experienced — they have been here a few times so they know what to expect. We need to get those guys bowling a lot of overs — if we do that, hopefully we’ll have some success.”
Of Stokes he added: “He’s an incredible player with both ball and bat. He’s one of the best in the world. You want to come up against the best in an Ashes series, but his situation is out of our control. We will do what we can to win the series and prepare for the series as well as we can.”
An Ashes series always involves a bit of drama before a ball has been bowled. On top of the Stokes saga David Warner has added to the spice, suggesting that the Aussies will be motivated by their “hatred” of England.
That caused a mini outcry, but Smith defended his opening batsman.
“David is great when he is in those kind of moods, when he is up and about,” he said.
“That’s what you want to see from your opening batsman — he’s fiery, he plays his best cricket when he is in that mindset, so hopefully he can score some big runs for us.”
This will be Smith’s first Ashes as Australia skipper and he admitted that leading the Baggy Green against England will be one of the toughest tasks of his career.
Last time around England got the better of their old enemy 3-2 on home soil, and with the first Test in Brisbane just a month away Smith knows the focus will be on him to deliver the urn back Down Under.
“It will be up there as one of the (biggest challenges) in my career so far — it’s a much-anticipated series, the rivalry with England is always there,” he told the BBC World Service.
“This is my fifth Ashes series, but my first as captain and I can’t wait to get out there. It’s an exciting series to be involved in.”
Four years ago the Aussies shocked England, then led by Alastair Cook, 5-0 just months after they had suffered a 3-0 defeat in England. But Smith admitted the chance of history repeating itself was unlikely this winter.
“That 5-0 victory was something special and I will never forget it. I would love to replicate it — 5-0 would be magnificent,” he said.
“You know, I would just love to win the series and I can’t wait to get out there and get started.”