Boxing Day Test: Steve Smith showed sympathy toward Ben Stokes-led England as the team endured criticism following their early Ashes series defeat to Australia. England suffered losses in the first three Tests, and the hosts took an unassailable 3-0 lead upon winning the recent Adelaide Test.
Smith will rejoin the Australian team for the Boxing Day Test and continue as stand-in captain in place of Pat Cummins after recovering from an inner-ear issue. With Australia already having secured the urn and now aiming for a clean sweep in the Ashes, Smith was asked if he felt any sympathy for the English team, which is under heavy scrutiny.
Smith, who was stripped of the Australian captaincy and received a year-long suspension following the Sandpaper-gate scandal in South Africa, is familiar with the pressures of being in the spotlight and expressed empathyfor England's current situation.
“When you’re losing, the spotlight is always on you and things can get spoken about and get blown up pretty heavily. So … I feel for them, in a way. It can be tricky. You’re in a country where you know you can go out and about and enjoy yourselves, and with big breaks, you know, you’ve got to experience the country that you’re in as well. And they had a pretty big break in between,” Smith told reporters at the MCG on Christmas Day.
The focus has shifted from England’s short preparation for the series to allegations that several team members overindulged during a break in Noosa between the Brisbane and Adelaide Tests. Smith stated he has no problem with the team taking a break between matches and believes it can serve as a reset for teams under pressure or not at their best.
“When you’re losing, the spotlight is always on you and things can get spoken about and get blown up pretty heavily. So … I feel for them, in a way. It can be tricky. You’re in a country where you know you can go out and about and enjoy yourselves, and with big breaks, you know, you’ve got to experience the country that you’re in as well. And they had a pretty big break in between,” Smith told reporters at the MCG on Christmas Day.
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"I can't really comment more than that on how they’re feeling or how they’re going about things but, yeah, I certainly believe that when you’ve lost two Test matches, and you’ve got such a long break, sometimes you just need to get away from the game and switch off entirely," he said.