Rejuvenated Steve Smith sets sight on South Africa challenge
Sep 22, 2016 at 11:04 AM
After an impressive performance by the Australian ODI outfit in Sri Lanka, the Kangaroos are all set to take on South Africa in their own backyard. The ODI series in Sri Lanka answered quite a few serious questions, as the Australians put on a fighting spirit to lift the series 4-1. It must be noted that Australia went into the ODI series on the back of a 3-0 drubbing in tests.
ODI skipper Steve Smith returned home after the second ODI in Sri Lanka, and in his absence, David Warner did a fine job. For the series against South Africa, Smith is back and feels much more energized. In his first conversation with the press after landing in South Africa, the batsman admitted that it was imperative for the Kangaroos to excel in this series.
“I’ve had a good break,” Smith said. “I had a hit two days before we left Australia, I actually got my old man to feed me some balls for the first time in about eight years. So it was a good thrill for him, and I hadn’t lost it.”I felt like I hit the ball really well, and we’ve got a week here in Johannesburg to prepare and I’ll get some good time in the nets over this week and then be ready to go for the first game,” he added.
The middle order batsman was quick to mention that he expected conditions to differ quite a bit as compared to Australia’s previous assignment in Sri Lanka. “I’d say they are the most similar conditions you are going to get, so it’s not so foreign in a way,” Smith said. “It’s a great place to play cricket, the wickets have some good pace and bounce and that’s how we like to play on that kind of wickets.”It’s exciting for one-day cricket to have those kinds of wickets, with generally quite big scores,” he mentioned. “So I’m sure things will be a little bit different from what we saw in Sri Lanka in regards to the amount of runs that are going to be scored in this series.”
Australia head into the series, with a few uncapped pacers, who have impressed in the domestic circuit, and in the A tours. Backing the young pacers to excel, Smith said, “We’re hoping they step up and we’re sure they will. They’ve got some pace and they swing the ball and they’ve got some variations,” he said. “We’ve given everyone enough game time so looking ahead to major tournaments, we’ve got Champions Trophy next year and then 2019 World Cup, we’re always looking ahead.”