Steve Smith has been praised for his consistency by Australia's Test captain Tim Paine. Smith was a part of his national team's squad who crashed out of the 2019 Cricket World Cup semifinals, losing to eventual winners, England.
According to cricket.com.au, Paine said, "You don't become one of the best players in the world and average 60 in Test cricket if you don't have some sort of a mission."
"The boys have been having a bit of a laugh the last couple of days because nothing's changed - he's hit a million balls and our coach's arm is falling off already on day two of the trip," he said.
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Earlier, Smith, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft were banned for a year for their involvement in a ball-tampering scandal in 2018.
"It's great to see that him, and David (Warner) and Cameron Bancroft have come back in and fitted perfectly in our group. They are guys who have always trained at exceptionally high standards and set the standard for others. The three of them have been outstanding since they've been back and involved," stated Paine.
"We get some practice games, and we get another really good one this week, but to have guys who have been here is hugely beneficial. We've had guys who have come on Ashes tours before and we've got our coach (Langer), our assistant coach (Hick), and (Test squad mentor) Steve Waugh," Paine said.
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The Aussies face England in the Ashes from August 1 onwards.
(ANI Inputs)
