"It'd be nice to spend some time with Pujara," says Australian batter Steve Smith
May 02, 2023
London [UK], May 3 : The Australian cricketer Steve Smith has arrived in England to play first time in the county championship. He will play the three-game stint with Sussex on Tuesday as per ESPNcricinfo.
Steve Smith took part in his first training session at The 1st Central County Ground today and we sat down with him ahead of his debut in the County Championship this Thursday.
Steve spoke about his first session with the team, his excitement for playing in the County Championship and how much he's looking forward to playing against Australian teammate Marnus Labuschagne.
Ahead of Ashes, Steve's visit is seen as a valuable preparation to the rival. Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said that some people think that they are helping Australia but they are not.
"I've got good friends who think that we're helping Australia to win the Ashes," he said with a smile "We're not at all,"
"Sport's all about opinions," said Farbrace. "That's what we love about the game. I've got very strong views on Chelsea. The fact that people are talking about Championship cricket is only good for the game."
"I've seen a lot of talk about getting used to conditions," he said. "But you've got to remember I've played a lot of cricket in England before. So conditions aren't really new to me, if that makes sense."
He smashed 774 runs at an average of 110.57 from just four matches after missing the Headingley Test.
"I haven't been that low for a while," he said. "I've played a lot against Pujara, watched him churn out plenty of runs. So it'd be nice to spend some time in the middle with him and put a few good partnerships together."
"Ollie bowled to me yesterday actually," revealed Smith. "I left one third ball and he knocked me over. So that wasn't ideal.
"But I was impressed with him actually when he was out in Australia. I thought he had some really good skills. He's quite tall, he hit some good areas and looks like he's got better since then. So I'm looking forward to playing with him this week."
