"Really important for us to put our foot on the throat" - Steve Smith urges Australia to be ruthless in the Ashes
Australia's middle-order batting lynchpin Steve Smith wants his side to be ruthless against England in the upcoming Ashes series Down Under. Smith wants the hosts to learn the lessons from failing to win the final two Tests against India at home despite having the upper hand in both games.
Australia succumbed to a second successive series loss to India at home last summer. Tim Paine and co. led the four-match series after winning the first Test. However, they couldn't bowl out the tourists on the fifth day in Sydney and Brisbane.
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Steve Smith lamented Australia's inability to force victories against India last summer despite being in the driver's seat. The right-handed batter said that Australia cannot afford to be complacent against world-class sides, saying:
"We got ourselves in positions where we could have won, particularly here at the Gabba and at the SCG. When we get in those positions, it's really important for us to put our foot on the throat and not let a team back in."
"Especially against really quality teams like India, and England are the same. Once we get into a position where we are on to,p we need to be ruthless, and get ourselves across the line. You can't afford to give good players and good teams an opportunity to get back in the contest," Smith continued, as quoted by Perth Now.
The 32-year old, a world-class Test batter, could not live up to his usual standards with the bat. Smith averaged a decent 44.71 in four Tests, scoring 313 runs, but that wasn't enough to secure a series win for Australia.
"I wasn't too surprised with the way India came at me last summer" - Steve Smith
Smith, speaking to cricket.com.au, reflected that India got the better of him in the first two Tests before he scored a hundred in the third. Australia's vice-captain added in this regard:
"I wasn't too surprised with the way India came at me last summer. It was more about just trying to stop me scoring for a lot of the time – they were just trying to 'out-patient' me, in a way, and I think they probably got the better of me in the first couple of Tests, and then I got going in Sydney, where I actually started to bat a bit better as well."
The 32-year old, preparing to face England in the Ashes, will hope to maintain his dominance over the arch-rivals.
ICYMI
The 2021-22 Ashes schedule has been confirmed!
The first Test begins on the 8th of December in Brisbane.