Ashes 2019: Steve Waugh warns England of Steve Smith for Ashes 2019

Waugh warns England of Steve Smith: Former Australian captain has warned England regarding taking Steve Smith lightly in Ashes 2019.

Former Australia captain and current team mentor Steve Waugh has lauded the English spectators for appreciating “good cricket”. Speaking in an interview with cricket.com.au, Waugh sounded unperturbed regarding Australian players receiving any harsh treatment from the English crowd in the imminent Ashes series.

“From my experience with English crowds, I am sure they want England to win but when opposition teams play well – and we’ve had success here – the English crowds are the best in the world.

Steve Smith in the 2017/18 Ashes:

5️⃣ Tests
6️⃣8️⃣7️⃣ runs
Batting average: 1️⃣3️⃣7️⃣.4️⃣0️⃣
High score: 2️⃣3️⃣9️⃣

Will Australia’s leading batsman in Test cricket have a similar impact in 2019? pic.twitter.com/81skRXhYxi

— ICC (@ICC) July 29, 2019

“They really appreciate good cricket, and I hope that’s going to be the case. There will be a small element that’s going to make it tough for our guys, but that’s professional sport and it’s water off a duck’s back that sort of stuff. They’re ready for it and they’ve experienced it before. Their main focus is playing well, and once you go out in the middle, you are cocooned from all that sort of noise,” Waugh was quoted as saying.

Steve Waugh warns England of Steve Smith

In the same interview, Waugh was vocal about Australia batsman Steve Smith, who will be playing a Test match after nearly 16 months. Expressing his confidence in Smith, Waugh warned the English team to take Smith lightly at their own peril.

ALSO READ: Will Mitchell Starc play in first 2019 Ashes Test?

“The thing I know about Steve Smith is he always finds a way. If someone’s going to write him off, or say he’s not what he used to be, they do that at their peril because he’s a guy that finds a way. His training and his work ethic is exceptional, I’ve never seen a guy hit as many balls. He’ll be thoroughly prepared for the first Test match,” Waugh said.

The recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 was Smith’s first shot at international cricket after being banned for a year. In 10 ODIs, Smith scored 379 runs at an average of 37.90 and a strike rate of 85.94 including four half-centuries.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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