Smith wary of 'riling up' England ace at Ashes

Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith outlined Ben Stokes as the ‘man to keep quiet’ for his team as they begin the highly anticipated five-match Test series against England at the Perth Stadium on Friday.

Smith, who is deputising for the injured Pat Cummins, will captain Australia for the 41st time in Test cricket and will shoulder the responsibility of giving the hosts a solid start to a series.

England, who are growing in reputation for their rather flamboyant style of cricket, come into the Test series in a confident mood with their eyes set firmly on regaining the Ashes and ending a 14-year wait for a series win in Australia.

The visitors’ hopes rest a lot on the shoulders of their fit-again skipper, Ben Stokes, a player who has caused Australia plenty of problems in the past, a fact his opposite number, Smith, acknowledges.

“He (Stokes) has done a terrific job with England over the last couple of years,” Smith said.

“Potentially, he’s someone who you don't want to get riled up. He has had a few performances against us where he's either taken the game away from us or pulled it back (for England).

"He's a quality performer, whether it's bat, ball or in the field. He's always in the game giving his 110%. Hopefully, we can keep him quiet.”

England have translated their captain’s charisma in the way they approach the game and that’s been one of the talking points ahead of this Ashes series. And Smith is under no delusions about what their opponents are capable of.

"I think it's just playing the tempo of the game that needs to be played at each certain time," Smith added.

"I've no doubt throughout this series, there's going to be periods of the game where a few of their batters get off and they score some runs quickly. And for us, it might be about being a little bit defensive in those moments.

"And then finding the moments where we can attack a bit more and just playing the game, really, that's in front of us, and not letting it drift too far.”

Australia have been able to hand a couple of debuts in the opening Test at Perth with Jake Weatherald being one of the beneficiaries. The highest run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield, Weatherald has big boots to fill as the hosts still seek a long-term replacement for the retired David Warner, and Smith backs the 31-year-old opener to come good.

“I watched him bat in the nets pretty closely the last few days. They are pretty tricky nets – fast, bouncy and a lot of seam,” Smith noted.

“The guys were charging in and bowling really fast (in the nets). He took it on and got in really good positions and he goes about it a certain way.

"He has been selected for his performances in the last 18 months in particular. He has batted exceptionally well at the top of the order for Tasmania and hopefully he can bring that to the Test arena.”

“I'm really excited for him and he has worked hard for a long period of time and he is going to complement Usman Khawaja pretty well up top.”

Australia have won four out of the five Test matches they have played at the Perth stadium but had to face defeat at the hands of India last time around, a fact that Smith and Co will be wary about.

But the stand-in Australian skipper wants to stay in the present and play the game as it comes.

“It looks like a good wicket. Looks pretty similar to last summer. It's going to have some decent pace and bounce in it. It's probably not as hot as it was last year, so potentially may not crack up as much as it did,” Smith said.

“We have got to adapt quickly to try and find the top of the stumps as early as possible. But these guys (our bowlers) are quality bowlers and I hope we do that.”

“I think it's a great venue. I'm super excited that the first three days are sold out. This series has been on people's radar for a long time. I think it's a nice place to start the summer.”