Its Going To Be A Big Challenge...: Steve Smith Issues Warning To Ben Stokes-Led England Ahead Of 2025-26 Ashes
Pat Cummins led-Australia are the current holders of Ashes and Ben Stokes' England will aim to reclaim the urn on Australian soil. However, star Australia batter Steve Smith has warned England, especially their batters about the challenging conditions in the country.
The 36-year-old feels that England plays a really aggressive brand of cricket but it's going to be a big challenge for them in the upcoming Test series in Australia.
"I've watched a lot of the series against India and I think it was one of the best Test series I've seen for a long time. The cricket that was played by both teams was outstanding. So, I think England have a good side at the moment. They're obviously playing a really aggressive brand of cricket, and I think coming down to Australia, particularly for their batters, it's going to be a big challenge," Smith told Sky Sports on the sidelines of The Hundred.
"I think the wickets in the last three or four years have been really tricky. We've obviously got a very experienced bowling lineup with guys that have played for a long period of time and been extremely successful. So I'm looking forward to the summer.
I think it's going to be a great series. I know that last Ashes was during covid-19 and the Barmy Army and stuff couldn't come down. So the atmosphere is going to be entirely different. We love playing in front of big crowds and hostile crowds on both sides. So it's going to be good fun," he added.
Also Read: Chris Woakes Gives Major Update On His Dislocated Shoulder Ahead Of Ashes Series
Notably, star batter Joe Root, who has been in sensational batting form in the last few years in Test cricket, will be key to England's success in Australia. Ahead of the Ashes 2025-26, Smith praised Root's ability to convert fifties into big hundreds over the past two years.
"I think not just in that series, the last probably two years he's just been incredible. His ability to make big scores, go from 50 to 100, which was probably one thing that he got caught in that 50 to 100 spot for quite a while. Now he's just making it count and going on and making huge scores. So, I think he hasn't scored a 100 in Australia," he said.
"I think that's been talked about quite a lot. I'm sure that's something that he wants to tick off his bucket list as well. So, like I said, it's going to be tricky for batting, particularly for top order batters. From an Australian point of view, hopefully he doesn't get 100 this summer, but I know that he'll be working hard towards it," he added.
Former Australia skipper further mentioned that his team will focus on letting their skills do the job against England.
"I think the way we've played our cricket the last while is just trying to let our skills do the talking. We've played really good cricket in the last four years in Test cricket, making two World Test Championship finals. So, we're doing a lot of things right. For us, it's just letting our skills take over. We know the Australian conditions well, obviously. Hopefully our skills are better than England's," said Smith.
Ashes 2025-26 Full Schedule
21-25 November: West Test, Perth Stadium, Perth
4-8 December: Day-Night Test, The Gabba, Brisbane
17-21 December: Christmas Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
26-30 December: Boxing Day Test, MCG, Melbourne
4-8 January: Pink Test, SCG, Sydney
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
27 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Should've Said No": Sachin Tendulkar Slammed By India Great On Renaming Of Pataudi Trophy
The five-match Test series between India and England ended in a 2-2 draw, giving fans a memorable cricketing action. This series, which was Shubman Gill 's first stint as India's Test captain, was renamed as the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy from the iconic Patuadi Trophy. This move grabbed everyone's attention as many fans and former cricketers raised their voices and stated that it was an insult to the great Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. However, the series was still renamed in the honour of former England pacer James Anderson and India great Sachin Tendulkar. Recently, India great Karsan Ghavri slammed the BCCI and even Sachin for not taking a firm stand against the change of the series name. He even name dropped Sunil Gavaskar and stated that if the name of Border-Gavaskar would have been changed then the former opener "would have shake the whole India". "That is very wrong. Number one, the Australia-West Indies series is always called the Frank Worrell Trophy. The India-Australia Trophy is always called the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If its name changed, Gavaskar poore India ko hila ke rakh dega (Gavaskar will shake the whole of India)," Ghavri told Vicky Lalwani on the latter's YouTube channel. "The BCCI should've put its foot down with the MCC and the ECB. Tiger's name shouldn't have been removed," he added. Ghavri then went on to criticise Sachin for not "putting his foot down" and not honouring the stature of Pataudi. "In the same context, when it came to Sachin Tendulkar, that this trophy would be changed, and this trophy would be named after you and Anderson, Sachin should've said no. Objection is different," said Ghavri. "In the first place, you should've put your foot down and should've said 'No, I don't want to use my name because Tiger Pataudi's name is already there. He's a legend of Indian cricket. If you want to give medals, use our name. Trophy's name should remain the same'. First of all, this question should've never been raised. You're degrading somebody of a great stature," he added.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
27 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Liverpool vs Bournemouth PL game halted after Semenyo faces racist abuse
The opening match of the Premier League between Liverpool and Bournemouth briefly stopped after Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused by a spectator inside Anfield. In the 28th minute with the score at 0-0 on Friday, referee Anthony Taylor talked to Semenyo, who is Black, while Liverpool was preparing to take a corner. Taylor then ran over to the sideline and spoke to both coaches, Liverpool's Arne Slot and Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola. After also talking to the captains, play resumed about two minutes later. Semenyo's complaint was the reason for the stoppage, the Premier League confirmed to the Associated Press. Bournemouth players consoled Semenyo, who played the full game and scored both of his team's goals in a 4-2 loss. Iraola said the person who abused Semenyo was identified. Premier League Match Centre have released a statement following the allegations of racist abuse directed towards Antoine Semenyo in the match between Liverpool and Bournemouth. — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 15, 2025 "It's a shame because a really great game of football, the first game of the season with everyone watching, and we have to be talking about this thing still today," Iraola said. "We should be past this stage but there's still people who don't behave correctly. It's a shame because every step you collectively do forward, these things lose a lot of power." Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said he was "in shock" and full of admiration for Semenyo, a 25-year-old Ghana international. "I don't know how Ant's played on, to be honest, and come up with those goals," Smith said. "It's totally unacceptable and I just feel sorry for Ant. He's a little bit down, obviously." Smith said he asked Taylor to remove the person who abused Semenyo from the stadium immediately. "But he said we have to go through a process, and that the police will go and sort it," Smith said. "And to be fair, the Liverpool players were supportive toward Antoine and the rest of the team. I think it was handled in the right way." An anti-discrimination message was read out to the crowd inside Anfield after the halftime whistle. The Premier League said it will investigate the incident and "offer our full support to the player and both clubs." "Racism has no place in our game, or anywhere in society," the competition said. "We will continue to work with stakeholders and authorities to ensure our stadiums are an inclusive and welcoming environment for all." The Football Association said it was "very concerned about the allegation of discrimination from an area of the crowd." "Incidents of this nature have no place in our game," the FA added, "and we will work closely with the match officials, the clubs and the relevant authorities to establish the facts and ensure the appropriate action is taken. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Australia vs South Africa 3rd T20I Live Streaming: How to watch AUS v SA live on TV & online in India?
Australia and South Africa are all set to clash in the 3rd T20I on Saturday, a winner-takes-all contest with the series currently level at 1-1. The Aussies took the opening game by 17 runs, but the Proteas bounced back in style in the second match, defeating the hosts by 53 runs. Australia will be banking on Tim David's splendid form with the bat, while openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head will be eager to step up in the decider. Bowling remains a concern — four Aussie bowlers went for over 11 runs an over in the last outing — but Ben Dwarshuis stood out with a tidy spell of 2/24 and will again be key in the series finale. For South Africa, the spotlight will be on young Dewald Brevis, who smashed a match-winning 125 in the previous encounter. Captain Aiden Markram will also be pleased with his bowling unit, which has already dismantled Australia twice on their own turf in this series. The Proteas will be hungry to do it once more to clinch the trophy. Australia: Mitchell Marsh (Captain), Sean Abbott, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa South Africa: Aiden Markram (Captain), Rassie van der Dussen, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen Australia and South Africa have met each other 27 times in T20I cricket where the Kangaroos have won on 18 occassions while the Proteas have won 9 clashes. The South Africa vs Australia 3rd T20I match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network in India. The live stream for Australia vs South Africa 3rd T20I can be watched on the JioHotstar app and website in India. The Australia vs South Africa 3rd T20I match is scheduled to start at 2:45 PM (India time) or 7:15PM local time. No, the Australia vs South Africa 3rd T20I clash cannot be watched for free. One will have to take the subscription to Jio Hotstar in order to watch the upcoming clash. The 3rd T20I clash between Australia and South Africa will be played at Cazaly's Stadium in Cairns, Australia. Notably, this is the first international T20I game to be played at this venue.
