"Trust yourself and do everything you can to help your team grow" - Steve Smith's advice for Joe Root following the 2nd Ashes Test
Australia's stand-in skipper for the second Ashes Test, Steve Smith, has some words of advice for English captain Joe Root, who has had some issues to solve in the ongoing Ashes series. The Australian encouraged Root to trust himself as captain and help his team grow.
Following the defeat at the Adelaide Oval, England are now 2-0 down in the five-match Ashes series. Amid the two successive defeats, the Three Lions skipper has received a lot of criticism for his decision-making.
While acknowledging that there will always be criticism of a captain's performance, Smith counseled Root to be as successful as he can be. Cricket.com.au quoted Smith as saying:
"There's always going to be critics out there that critique your performance as a captain. I guess for him (Root), the best advice I could give is just trust yourself and do everything you can to help your team grow and be as successful as you can be."
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According to Smith, a captain can sometimes be outplayed by the opposition and do nothing about it. However, he emphasized that for a skipper, striving to improve is very important. Smith added:
"Sometimes, as a captain, you get outplayed by the opposition and there's not a great deal you can do. But just reflecting or seeing what you can do better is always important, that's part of being a player or a leader."
Smith oversaw a 4-0 victory the last time Joe Root led his side Down Under four years ago. However, he thought he would never captain his country again after he was banned in the aftermath of the Sandpapergate scandal in 2018.
However, Cricket Australia welcomed him and named him Pat Cummins' deputy in Test cricket. When Cummins was sent into isolation due to COVID-19, Smith found himself back in charge of the side for the second Test.
"I did enjoy my captaincy" - Steven Smith after the Adelaide Test
On Monday, the 32-year-old said that he enjoyed leading the mighty Aussie side in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval. With the help of Jhye Richardson's five-wicket haul in the second innings, the hosts managed to defeat England by a massive margin of 275 runs.
Following the game, Smith credited fellow batters David Warner and Marnus Labuschange for setting up the match for Australia in the first innings. Smith said after the encounter:
"We wanted to stay calm because it would take a couple of good balls and a couple of wickets to get the win. I did enjoy the captaincy and the guys played well and controlled the game after the first day. Davey (David Warner) and Marnus's partnership set it up, so we could control the game."
The right-hander will move back into his role as deputy when Pat Cummins rejoins the Australian squad for the third Ashes Test in Melbourne. The third Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will begin on December 26.