Steve Smith has opened up about his Test future as Australia prepare for a demanding run of series against South Africa, India and England. The veteran batter has not committed to playing in the next Ashes campaign, with his focus remaining on taking his career one series at a time.
Smith, 37, will be part of Australia’s upcoming three-Test series against South Africa, but his longer-term plans remain uncertain. The batter is yet to decide whether he will travel to England next summer for the Ashes, where Australia will be looking to win a series in England.
Steve Smith keeps Ashes decision open
Smith admitted that he has not yet made a decision on whether he will be part of Australia’s next Ashes campaign. The prospect of finally winning an Ashes series in England remains something he would like to achieve, but the veteran is not looking that far ahead at this stage. Australia’s schedule will become increasingly demanding, with South Africa, India and England all featuring in their upcoming Test assignments. For Smith, however, the immediate priority is the series against the current World Test Championship (WTC) holders.
“I don’t even know if I’ll be there yet. I’m in kind of a series-by-series proposition, as I’ve been for a while, and that’s still a fair way away for me right now. I’d love to win one there or to have won one there, but you wait and see if that comes to fruition. For me, it’s just another series. All that happened a long time ago, and we’ve played a lot of cricket and have been back to South Africa since then for one-dayers,” Smith said.
The South Africa series will also mark Smith’s return to the country in Test cricket for the first time since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. Despite the significance of the return, he is keen to leave that chapter in the past.
Smith remains confident in his batting and future in T20 cricket
While his Test plans beyond the immediate future remain unclear, Smith does not appear ready to walk away from cricket. He continues to pursue T20 opportunities and has identified representing Australia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as one of his major ambitions. His decision to play for Amsterdam in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) 2026 was partly motivated by his desire to continue getting regular T20 cricket.
“One of the reasons why I wanted to play with Amsterdam [at the European T20 Premier League] was just to continue playing as much T20 cricket as I can. I feel like 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. I’ve achieved a lot in the game. It’s been a great ride for the last 15 years or thereabouts. I’ve had a lot of fun. I’m still enjoying it, so I don’t have an end date, we’ll wait and see,” he concluded.
Smith has also remained confident in his ability to contribute in Test cricket. He has averaged 49.4 over the last two years and has taken his Test century tally to 37, despite increasingly challenging batting conditions. The veteran has not put a firm end date on his career either, suggesting that his enjoyment of the game will play a major role in deciding how long he continues.
Also READ: Jamie and Craig Overton join Melbourne Stars ahead of Big Bash League (BBL) 2026-27
For latest cricket news & updates, visit CricketTimes.com.
