Australia batter Steve Smith expects spin to play a key role in this week’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s, with London experiencing a stretch of dry weather ahead of Wednesday’s start.
Australia will defend its title against South Africa, which is making its first appearance in the final. While seamers are expected to dominate on what could be a drier-than-usual Lord’s pitch, Smith believes spin will be influential as the match progresses.
“I think spin will play a big part, particularly as the game wears on,” Smith said at a press conference on Monday.
“We’ve only been here a week, but I think it’s been pretty dry start to the season over here. There hasn’t there been too much rain, which is rare for England. It does look like quite a dry surface and I think the footmarks will definitely come into play as the game wears on.”
Smith, expected to bat at No. 4, has fond memories of Lord’s, having scored a double century during the Ashes a decade ago and another hundred against England two years ago.
“It takes a little bit of time getting used to the slope on the one end,” he said. “You feel like you’re falling over a little bit while at the other end you feel quite tall. It takes a couple of deliveries just to get used to that from both ends. I think each time you play out here, you certainly get value for your shots, particularly hitting the ball down the hill. It races away, so it can be a nice wicket to bat on as we’ve seen over the years as well.”
Still, Smith warned that conditions in England can shift quickly.
“If there’s a bit of cloud about and the balls swing around, it can get tricky,” he said. “Batting on this surface is about just summing it up and playing what’s in front of you and being able to adapt accordingly.”
Australia enters the final with limited recent exposure to red-ball cricket, but Smith believes the squad is ready.
“All the batters feel like they’re in a good place, so now just excited to go out and play. Lord’s is a place we traditionally played pretty good cricket, so we’re excited about the prospect of coming up against South Africa,” he said.
