Steve Smith critical of Stokes’s off-field behaviour

Australian captain Steve Smith has criticised the off-field behaviour of the England all-rounder Ben Stokes in September. His name was withdrawn by England Cricket Board (ECB) following his involvement in the street brawl outside the bar in Bristol. He is still under investigation and could well miss the all-important Ashes series which is all set to begin on November 23 in Brisbane at the Gabba. However, Smith also praised the all-round ability of Stokes which has made him one of the best players in the world right now.

Smith returned from India mid-way through the tour after ODI series as he hurt his shoulder during the fifth match in Nagpur. Though it was clear that the injury was not serious, Cricket Australia (CA) didn’t take any chances ahead of the Ashes and ruled him out of the T20 leg of the tour. David Warner was appointed as captain for the remaining matches and he did well as the Australians drew the series to regain some confidence from the tour.

Hopefully it never happens to any of us

Steve Smith cleared that he would love to play against the best in the world and hoped that the youngster joins England squad before the first Test in Brisbane. “Whether he comes or not, that’s out of our control. You always want to come up against the best and test your skills against the best. That’s what Test cricket is all about. There’s no doubt Ben Stokes is one of the best players around the world at the moment,” he told ABC Radio.

The 28-year-old didn’t forget to condemn such a behaviour from England all-rounder off the fielder and hoped such an incident never happens with any of his teammates. He also opined that all the fit Australian quicks are certainly an advantage for them. “I certainly don’t condone that kind of behaviour. Hopefully it never happens to one of our boys. Two guys [Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins] who bowl 150-plus kilometres an hour and Josh Hazlewood bowling 140 and doing what he does. That is a big advantage for us. They’re three big players for us and if they turn it on throughout this series, I think we’ll have a lot of success and take a lot of wickets,” he concluded with a hope of winning Ashes in other words.