The 31-year-old is off to a great start in the Sheffield Shield for South Australia, having already picked up two five-wicket hauls in two matches and having bagged 13 wickets at an average of 14.69.
Before the opening Perth Test starts a week from now, a massive topic of debate will be the number three spot: whether Labuschagne will get his reward for the domestic grind or whether the Aussies will look at Green, who has also started to bowl, as a long-term number three option. So far in
The horror show by Smith-led New South Wales was the major highlight, as despite the presence of Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood, NSW registered a poor outing, which slid them to third place in the table.
Australia suffered a setback ahead of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) opener as all-rounder Sean Abbott was ruled out of the Perth Test due to a hamstring injury, while pacer Josh Hazlewood has been cleared of any major damage after precautionary scans revealed no muscle strain.
With the Ashes set to commence from November 21 at Perth, plenty of Australian stars have found rhythm and got game time heading into the all-important rivalry, a massive series in their chase for the ICC World Test Championship Mace.
Steve Smith, who is captaining NSW in the Sheffield Shield 2025-26 season and will also lead Australia against England in the upcoming Ashes series, was the lone half-centurian in the entire NSW batting lineup against Victoria.
Starc struck early, dismissing four of Victoria's top six batsmen, while his Australia teammate Nathan Lyon chipped in with 2-65, removing the other two top-order batsmen.
Australia swashbuckler Travis Head will remain unavailable for the final two matches of the five-match series to prepare for the Ashes, scheduled to begin on November 21, while representing South Australia in the Sheffield Shield.
Starting day three at 349/5, New South Wales posted a total of 429/7 declared, with Steve Smith (118) and Kurtis Patterson (122) posting centuries. Queensland was solid in their response, ending their day at 238/4, trailing by 191 runs. Khawaja (87 in 127 balls, with 12 fours) had a 94-run o
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri outlined the quality of Steve Smith that has always amazed him, and expects the captaincy for the first Ashes Test in Perth to bring the best out of him.
Former Australian opener David Warner has advocated for Steve Smith to pile up "five centuries" against England in the Ashes, scheduled to commence on November 21 in Perth.
Smith, representing New South Wales against Queensland, continued his fine run in whites, scoring 118 in 176 balls, with 20 fours and six. His runs came at a healthy strike rate of 67.04.