Smith: We have a very good record in big championships

“I enjoy leading this team, it’s been a great little ride so far and yeah, it probably does get the best out of me as a batsman as well,” says Steve Smith about leading Australia.

“We have played some pretty good One-Day cricket in the last couple of years and hopefully we can keep that record up,” says Steve Smith.

Australia, the most successful team in ICC knock-out tournaments history, will be again one of the firm favourites for this year’s ICC Champions Trophy. Aussie captain, Steve Smith, has been in excellent form off late, and the right-hand batsman will look to lead his team’s charge in England. 

Excerpts from an interview:

Question: Steve, first of all, what are the factors you think will work in Australia’s favour in the Champions Trophy?

  Answer:  I think, we have a very strong side here, we have some quality batters in our line-up, some very good fast bowlers, who bowl at very good pace. It’s a very skilful unit. We have played some pretty good One-Day cricket in the last couple of years and we have a very good record in big championships, so hopefully we can keep that record up.

Do you think the responsibility of captaining the side helps your overall game?

Yeah, probably. I enjoy leading this team, it’s been a great little ride so far and yeah, it probably does get the best out of me as a batsman as well.

David Warner has been in excellent form. What do you think are the reasons behind his recent success?

I think, in One-Day cricket, he has found the right tempo to play at. For a little while he was sort of stuck in between playing Test cricket and T20 cricket and now he has found the right balance and he has been absolutely incredible in One-Day cricket over the last year for us. I think he scored eight or nine hundreds last year and that is an incredible effort and hopefully he can be a big player for us in the Champions Trophy.

One of the biggest matches in the tournament will be the one between England and Australia. Your view on the entire England-Australia rivalry. How important is this match for you?

It’s going to be a very important match for us. It's a pretty short tournament this one, and every game is crucial. So, the England-Australia game will be a very tough match, I think they have got a very good side. They have been playing some very good white-ball cricket, so it is going to be a big challenge for us but hopefully we can get on top of them and get a victory.