Steve Smith laments on playing in front of empty stands in England
The long-awaited return of Steve Smith in the Ashes last year was unforgettable. Despite boos ringing around the Cricket grounds throughout the Ashes series, the Sydney-born Cricketer had won back the respect of his country to an extent, scoring a mammoth 774 runs in the series.
Before the 21-man squad boarded the flight for England, Smith told reporters,”I do like batting there, unfortunately, there’s going to be no crowd there to egg me on and give me a bit more motivation. I’ve watched a bit of the Tests England have played, and we know their white-ball cricket over the last few years has been exceptional, so it’s going to be a good series.”
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The England tour is the start of a long span of being away from home for the Aussies, most of whom will be travelling to the UAE for the IPL after the T20 and ODI contests against England.
The Australian team is expected to quarantine-cum-train at the facility in Derby before moving to Southampton, where all the three T20Is will be played. The two teams will move to Manchester next for the 3-match ODI series.
Steve Smith had a stupendous Ashes series in 2019
“I’m looking forward to getting back into it, obviously it’s going to be a bit different than what we’re used to being in a bubble and playing with no crowds. That presents a challenge in itself, but one we’re looking forward to,” Smith said.
Smith said the team will have to “stick together” to get through the prolonged periods of isolation, especially now that they’re travelling without family.
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He said, “It’ll be interesting to see how long the bubble(s) lasts for, how long we’re going to have to be in that. We’re lucky to be able to go and play, we’ll just do what we need to and play it day by day, stick together as a bunch and help each other out. I’m sure there will be tough moments for all the guys being away from their families for long periods of time.”
Smith, however, stated that the forced break from cricket has meant the team is indeed refreshed, mentally, and “raring to go”. He said, “I enjoyed it (no cricket) for a little bit, it was nice to take a break and put the tools down and just refresh myself mentally and physically and have a chance to have a bit of a pre-season.”