STEVE SMITH TO RETURN FOR ODI FORMAT AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA

Australian skipper Steve Smith ready for new challenges after he had a “good break” after leaving the Sri Lankan tour at an early stage

Australian team had set foot on South Africa on Wednesday, September 21. The team is scheduled to play six ODIs against their hosts and Ireland, said Darren Lehmann after he landed in South Africa. He also stated that the skipper was very excited to play the upcoming matches after he had a small vacation. The decision of sending Smith back home during the on-going Sri Lankan series created a start of criticisms against the country.

“I’ve had a good break,” said Smith.  “I had a hit two days before we left (Australia), I actually got my old man to feed me some balls for the first time in about eight years. So it was a good thrill for him, and I hadn’t lost it.”

“I felt like I hit the ball really well, and we’ve got a week here (in Johannesburg) to prepare and I’ll get some good time in the nets over this week and then be ready to go for the first game,”

“I’d say they are the most similar (conditions) you are going to get, so it’s not so foreign in a way. It’s a great place to play cricket, the wickets have some good pace and bounce and that’s how we like to play on those kind of wickets.” added the skipper.

“It’s exciting for one-day cricket to have those kinds of wickets, with generally quite big scores. So I’m sure things will be a little bit different from what we saw in Sri Lanka in regards to the amount of runs that are going to be scored in this series.”