Confident Steve Smith relishing Lord's reunion
LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 10: Steve Smith of Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground on June 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
By Charlie Bennett at Lord's
The Home of Cricket is where the heart is for Steve Smith, and the batting great believes Australia's excellent Lord's record puts them in a strong position for the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025.
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Australia defend their title against South Africa from Wednesday, and they could not have hand-picked a better venue outside of their home country.
Traditionally, Australia have always thrived at Lord's. They have won two of their last three Test matches here and were unbeaten between 1934 and 2009 – a run of 18 Tests. Add to that, they have won seven of their last 10 ODIs since 2005.
As you would expect for a player with 36 Test centuries and an average of 56.74, Smith has an excellent Lord's record as well.
He scored a double-century in an Ashes Test 10 years ago, and 110 in 2023, helping him to 525 runs in total and an average of 58.33.
Indeed, he is just 51 runs away from becoming the highest-scoring overseas player in Lord's history – an honour that currently belongs to his countryman Warren Bardsley, who last walked through the Long Room with pads on 99 years ago.
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So, it is no wonder Smith – relaxed and refreshed after a three-month break from cricket – is in a confident mood.
'We have been training really well, the last week or so,' he said.
'The batters feel like they are in a good place, now we will go out and play. We have very fond memories of the World Test Championship Final from down the road at The Oval.
'Coming here to Lord's, it's a place we have traditionally played good cricket so we are excited about the prospect of facing South Africa here.
'The Dukes ball is a bit different to what we have with our home and away games most of the time, but we are excited about this contest.'
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Breaking the habit of a lifetime, Smith has downed tools since the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025, where Australia lost in the semi-finals to India.
Even in his time off, he normally keeps a bat close at hand so he can practice in the mirror. But this time, he opted for a clean break and peppered his social media channels with updates of his life in New York City with wife Dani.
At 36, Smith is refusing to look too far into the future and has previously conceded this may well be his last appearance at Lord's – with Australia not due to play here again until 2027.
Still, with four Test hundreds in his last eight innings, he remains one of the best players in the world, and so it is no surprise that, when he picked up a bat again last week, things immediately clicked into place.
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And it is a good thing it did. South Africa boast one of the best bowling attacks in the world, led by Kagiso Rabada – second in the ICC Men's Test Bowling rankings – and Marco Jansen, and Smith admits he and his fellow batters will be under pressure.
'Us batters have our work cut out,' he said.
'They're a good side, they're here for a reason. South Africa have been a good cricket side for a long time.
'I have had a good break, had a couple of months off, and had a first hit the other day, and it has clicked into place.
'It is a nice place to bat, I have had some success. It takes time to get used to the slope, but you get value for shots, especially hitting down the hill.
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'It can be nice to hit on. It can be tricky when it moves around, batting here is about playing what is in front of you.
'Spin will play a big part as the game goes on as well. It is dry, there has not been too much rain, it does look dry, and I think spin will come into it.'
Smith has seen it all and won it all too. A world champion in all three formats, he admits Australia's 2023 World Test Championship success ranks as high as any other.
'It was right up there to win it,' he said.
'It was great to win a Test Champ final, and be back here to defend our crown. We have had a good team for four years now and we're desperate to defend it.'
© ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2025
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