Ashes 2021 LIVE – Steve Smith in Ashes: As the iconic Australia vs England rivalry starts on Wednesday, without any doubt, Steve Smith will be the ENEMY No. 1 for Joe Root’s side. Such is the importance of Smith’s wicket that England bowlers are not only watching his countless dismissals – but also taking cue from how India & New Zealand were able to keep Smith quiet in the last few series – Follow Australia vs England 1st TEST LIVE in Ashes LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN
ASHES 2021 LIVE: England taking cue from Virat Kohli’s team India on how to get ENEMY No. 1 Steve Smith out?
Australia vs England LIVE – How to tackle Steve Smith? England has been badly punished by Steve Smith in the last few Ashes series. Smith’s performance in the last 2 Ashes series has been phenomenal and England bowlers have struggled to dismiss him.
Steve Smith in Ashes
Overall – 27 M / 2800 Runs / 65.11 Av / 11 – 100’s
2019 – 4 M / 774 Runs / 110.57 Av / 3 – 100’s
2017 – 5 M / 687 Runs / 137.4 Av / 3 – 100’s
England’s captain Joe Root agrees that Smith has been a real issue for the England bowlers. Root told cricket.com.au. “He works guys out, he learns how to master each condition and the different surfaces he comes up against.
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“If you pose a plan to him, he finds a way to get through it.”
So how will England solve SMITH puzzle? According to England pacer Mark Wood, team will take cue from India & New Zealand to control Smith. Both Indian & Kiwis bowlers in the last series against Australia managed to keep Smith quiet with some interesting tactics & that will help England according to Wood.
How New Zealand & India tackled Smith? New Zealand notably kept Smith quiet across three Tests in Australia’s 2019-20 home summer, largely owing to a short-ball tactic that was expertly employed by left-armer Neil Wagner. England do not have a left-arm paceman at their disposal on this tour.
So England’s best bet is to take cue from India’s tactics against Smith. Indian bowlers choked Smith’s scoring options & managed frustrating him. India bowlers backed by interesting field placements made it difficult for Smith to score – that frustrated the Australian and helped India overcome Smith factor. Now, England is planning to employ the same tactics according to Wood.
How India & New Zealand Tacked Steve Smith?
2020 vs INDIA – 4 M / 313 Runs / 44.7 Av / 1 – 100
2019 vs NZ – 3 M / 214 Runs / 42.8 / 0 – 100
Speaking at the Gabba today, England quick Mark Wood said England would be repeating India’s tactics of trying to contain his scoring options.
“Steve’s Smith obviously one of the key wickets” Wood said. “We’ve got to be on it for his first 20 balls the way India did … because that’s the best chance we’ve got of getting him out’
“We had a plan last time and he combated that really well. Last series he was brilliant, so this one we’ve got to try and step it up again, put him under pressure and implement the plan that the captain wants”
England Playing XI: The Ashes starts on Wednesday, Ben Stokes to return in England XI for Gabba Test: Follow Ashes live updates
It’s clear Smith is on England’s mind. Until or unless England doesn’t find right answers to tackle him – ASHES urn is unlikely to move out of Australia.
Australia vice-captain Steve Smith needs 460 runs to complete 8000 runs in Test cricket. He has scored 7540 runs in 77 Tests. He could become the fastest to reach the feat. Kumar Sangakkara is the fastest who reached the landmark in 152 innings. He can also go past Justin Langer’s record of 7696 runs. He can also become the only second Australia batsman (currently 2800 runs) to complete 3000 runs against England after Don Bradman (5028 runs).
Squads
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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