Steve Smith says he is “cold” about captaining Australia after Josh Hazlewood stepped in for Pat Cummins for the second one-day international.
Smith’s brilliant 94 against England helped Australia win the series 2–0, with Cummins rested in Sydney.
The batsman was dropped from the captaincy after the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018.
“I’m not sure if there was a conversation. I do what I’m told,” Smith said.
“I was vice-captain for that game, and helped out where I could. They’re trying to get some new leaders, some young leaders. I’m pretty cool, I’ll just do my job.”
Smith captained the Test team against England in Adelaide during the 2021 Ashes series, when Cummins was ruled out because he was believed to have been in close contact with someone with Covid-19.
There have been questions over whether he will lead the team again amid controversy, with Smith saying a return would be a step back for Australia, but former bowler Stuart Clark says he is now are better suited to play only as batsmen.
“If they want him to be captain, they will, and if not, they won’t.
“He’s happy to help when he can, but he has no ambitions to get paid any more with it,” Clarke said.
“He’s a bit older, he’s married, and he’s probably closer to the end of his career than the beginning. He’s still got a lot of cricket to go, but he’s been a captain for a long time. “
Smith’s form during the series has been a negative sign for England and other countries as well, as he scored 174 runs in two innings and got out only once.
He described himself as a “work in progress” over the past year, batting well without reaching the heights of the 2017-18 winter, when he scored 687 in Australia’s thrashing of England. runs – before he missed a year of international cricket. of hair tampering.
“It’s my movement, my hands, the timing I feel like I have and where I’m hitting the ball. I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Smith said.
It’s a statement that will delight Australian fans ahead of Test series against the West Indies and South Africa, followed by the Ashes in Britain next summer.
“He held Australia together today and that’s why we know him,” Clarke said.
“He’s starting to look like the 2018 Ashes version of himself again. He’s changed his technique, his feet, his hands. It looks easy for him now.”
