NEWS
Follow UsOne of Australia's most incredible batters of the modern era, Steve Smith reckons winning a Test series in England would be a "bucket list" achievement as he prepares for potentially his final overseas Ashes series with a stint at county club Sussex.
The 33-year-old opted out of the Indian Premier League to feature in three County Championship matches for the south coast side, starting with Thursday's second-division clash away to Worcestershire.
He will link up with Australia for their World Test Championship final against India at the Oval in early June before the tourists begin their quest for a first Ashes series win in England since 2001.
"It would be a huge one to tick off the bucket list, I suppose, Smith said on what it would mean to win the Ashes in England.
"We haven't been able to do it, but we got close last time and were unable to get over the line," he added as he reflected on the drawn 2019 Ashes in England.
In the last Ashes series, Smith smashed twin hundreds in the first Test at Edgbaston after returning from a year-long ban for his role in a ball-tampering scandal.
"This will be my fourth tour of England," he said at Sussex's Hove headquarters on Tuesday.
"And could this be my last?
"Potentially. I mean, I'm 34 in just under a month. I'm not sure I'll be back. We'll see."
Appearing in the Championship will be a new experience for Smith, who has a superb Test record in England, where he averages nearly 60 from 16 matches.
"It's something I've never done and have always wanted to do, so the stars aligned in a way," he said. "I'm excited."
One of Smith's new team-mates at Sussex will be England seamer Ollie Robinson, who in March forecast Ben Stokes' side would give Australia a 'good hiding' in the Ashes after they were beaten 4-0 in Australia in 2021/22.
"Ollie bowled to me on Monday, and I left one, the third ball, and he knocked me over, so that wasn't ideal.
"But I was impressed with him actually when he was out in Australia. I thought he had some really good skills. He's quite tall, he hit some good areas, and it looks like he's got better since then."
Over the past couple of years, England have adopted an aggressive style of play with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes at the helm of affairs. The duo have ensured England recorded wins in 10 out of the 12 matches.
However, they will face a stern test against a formidable Aussie bowling unit comprising Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.
"The aggressive brand they've played has been great to watch from afar. But coming up against it, hopefully, it doesn't come off."
Sussex's decision to sign the prolific batsman has led to criticism that they are aiding one of England's key opponents in a way unlikely to be reciprocated in Australia.
But the player himself said he would have no qualms were England batting ace Joe Root to turn out for New South Wales ahead of an Ashes campaign in Australia.
Sussex coach Paul Farbrace said Smith's "winning mentality", run-scoring and cricket knowledge would benefit a youthful squad. "This morning, our seamers are running in bowling at Puj in one net and Steve in the other, which is a fantastic learning already," he said.
"Sport's all about opinions. The fact that people are talking about Championship cricket is only good for the game.
"I've got good friends who think that we're helping Australia to win the Ashes. We're not at all. I think this is really good for English cricket," he further added.
"Hopefully, I can do some really good things the next few weeks, and people are just able to watch me and how I go about it. Hopefully, that's enough for them. but I'm also here to talk if anyone wants to talk any cricket," Smith concluded.
(With inputs from AFP)
