England's entertainers 'actually trying to win now': Smith

Steve Smith believes England's batters shouldn't get too used to batter-friendly pitches with more challenging surfaces expected for the Ashes series later this year.

England are currently in the middle of a high-scoring Test series against India, where runs have flowed for both sides at all four venues to date.

The batting average in men's Tests of England-hosted matches since March 2023 is 32.78 while in the same period on Australian pitches is 24.50.

And Australia's star No.4 batter believes it might come as a bit of a shock to the visitors when they arrive for the first Test in Perth on November 21.

"Their batters are going to be challenged a little bit differently to the wickets they have had over in England for a while, which have looked pretty flat and good for batting," Smith told BBC Sport.

"The wickets in Australia in the last three or four years have been very tricky for top order batters. It is going to be a good challenge for them.

"But it's going to be a wonderful series. I have been watching the India and England series and there has been some great cricket played there, so I think the Ashes this year is going to be an absolute belter."

Smith also called out a change of approach that he noticed from Ben Stokes' side, who had insinuated that entertaining the crowd was more important than winning matches.

"They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be," Smith said.

"They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously."

While Australia's T20 squad is midway through a five-match series against West Indies, Smith is in England ahead of the Hundred competition, where he will play for the Welsh Fire.

It marks a long-time coming for Smith and the Fire, with the Australian named as the franchise's inaugural captain in 2019 before the first edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Having retired from One-Day Internationals following the Champions Trophy in February, Smith is not giving up on Australia's 20-over side and says the prospect of becoming an Olympian is keeping him motivated in the shortest format.

The next Olympic Games, to be held in Los Angeles in 2028, will see cricket featured for the first time since 1900.

"I decided to stop playing one-day cricket so I can play more franchises, with the aim to make the Olympic team," Smith said.

"So to play more shorter-form tournaments around the world is only going to be beneficial.

"It has been a long run for me, and I have been doing this a long time. I am still enjoying it and particularly the shorter formats and want to keep putting my name out there."

Smith is one of nine Australian men who will take part in the Hundred, along with 15 Australian women.

The competition begins on August 5 with Grace Harris and Georgia Redmayne's London Spirit taking on Amanda-Jade Wellington and Meg Lanning's Oval Invincibles at Lord's.

Australians in the Hundred

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