For the first time amid long-standing speculations, Steve Smith has given a hint of his mindset with regard to his retirement. As he continues walking into the sunset of his career, Smith says that he isn’t sure of his participation in the Ashes 2027.
Hailed as the best Test batsman of this generation, Smith remained coy over his future as a Test cricketer, although he exuded confidence when talking about playing T20Is for the LA Olympics 2028.
England are to host Australia in a five-Test rubber in the next home summer for the 2027 Ashes series. Pat Cummins’ team has held the Ashes since regaining it in the 2017/18 home series.
During this period, Australia toured England twice – 2019 and 2023 – and returned with the urn after drawing the series by a 2-2 scoreline on each trip, though they failed to win those series outright.
Steve Smith uncertain of Ashes 2027
Smith has played four Ashes series in England between 2013 and 2023 and managed 500+ runs in two of them, including his epic haul of 774 runs in 7 innings in the 2019 Ashes.
The Ashes 2027 would present Smith, 37, a last chance to claim a Test series victory on the English soil. However, the Aussie star batsman is not looking too far ahead in the future.
“I don’t even know if I’ll be there yet [in 2027 Ashes]. I’m in kind of a series-by-series proposition, as I’ve been for a while, and that’s still a fair way away for me right now. I’d love to win one there or to have won one there, but you wait and see if that comes to fruition,” Smith said in an interview with The Telegraph.
Smith, however, has set his eyes firmly on the Olympics two years down the line in Los Angeles.
“One of the reasons why I wanted to play with Amsterdam [at the European T20 Premier League] was just to continue playing as much T20 cricket as I can,” he added.
“I still like to think I could play T20 cricket for a while. What’s next for me when I finish? I’m not sure, but yeah, hopefully a bit more time left playing.
Smith returns to the land of Sandpaper Gate
Starting October 9, Smith will be playing his first Test series in South Africa since the infamous Sandpaper Gate scandal in 2018, where he received a one-year ban from Cricket Australia. The 37-year-old says he’s moved on from that story.
“For me, it’s just another series. All that happened a long time ago, and we’ve played a lot of cricket and have been back to South Africa since then for one-dayers,” he asserted.
When is the Ashes 2027?
The 2027 Ashes will kick off on June 18 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, with matches to be followed at Lord’s in London, Edgbaston in Birmingham, and The Rose Bowl in Southampton, and conclude at Kennington Oval in London.
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