Australia's Steve Smith says he "does not know" if he will play in next summer's Ashes in England. Smith will turn 38 a couple of weeks before the first Test at Trent Bridge next June. The batter has never won an Ashes series away from home and the 2027 contest would surely represent his last chance to do so.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Smith said: "I don't even know if I'll be there yet. I'm kind of a series-by-series proposition, as I've been for a while. That's still a fair way away for me right now.
"I'd love to win [an Ashes in England] but you wait and see if that comes to fruition." Smith's Test record in England is stellar - an average of 54.27 across 23 matches with his haul of 2,334 runs including eight hundreds and 10 half-centuries. The right-hander averaged a shade over 50 across his nine Test outings in 2025, while in three games this year - one against England and two versus Bangladesh - he is averaging 61.40. He said: "I feel I'm batting really nicely.
I've found different ways to go about things on these tricky surfaces and still be able to score runs. "So trying to contribute as well as I can for the team, score runs, take catches, help out in leadership areas where I need to - it's been a good, fun couple of years." Smith - who is eager to prolong his T20 career and play for Australia in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics - also had his say on how bowlers perfecting the wobble-seam delivery in Test cricket is making life incredibly difficult for batters. He said: "There are some balls now that are just unplayable.
Some of these balls have your name on it and you can't do anything about it. "If it's seaming two degrees, you're not hitting that ball, or you shouldn't be hitting that ball. If you're hitting it, you're probably not a very good batter, to be honest.
You're playing down the wrong line. "And if it's coming into you, and it's hitting the top of the stumps and you're getting trapped in front, you can't do anything about it." England did not play a frontline spinner during their recent 3-0 home sweep of Pakistan with part-time tweaker Dan Lawrence supporting the four-pronged pace attack of Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson. For Australia, Nathan Lyon is not always a certain pick now due to seam-friendly conditions.
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