As the Ashes 2025-26 is set to begin in Perth on November 21, England captain Ben Stokes has made it clear that his team has only one mission, and that is to stop Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith from snatching the game away.
Speaking at the pre-match press meet in Perth, Ben Stokes made it clear that Steve Smith will be the biggest threat to England in this long and high-pressure five-match Test series in Australia. The England captain has praised Smith and Joe Root a lot.
Ben Stokes praises Steve Smith and Joe Root ahead of Ashes
Smith and Joe Root are widely viewed as the two best Test batsmen of their generation. England’s modern era legend Root has already scored 13543 runs in 158 Test matches with the help of 39 centuries and 66 fifties, while the Australian batsman has so far scored 10477 runs in 119 Test matches and scored 36 centuries and 43 fifties in the format.
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They are entering the Ashes series as the most experienced and successful players, but their records in each other’s home conditions tell a different story. Root has always struggled in Australia, where he averages only 35.68 and has never scored a century.
Smith, on the other hand, has dominated England over the years with an average of 56.01 and 12 centuries against him. Well, Stokes admitted that England have often found Smith almost unplayable, and the team is working on ways to silence the Australian great.
Ben Stokes reveals England’s Ashes 2025-26 game plan
The England captain believes that if he manages to keep Smith quiet at the start of the five-match Test series, it will give his team a solid chance of capturing the Ashes.
“Not too much has changed because he just scores runs against us, doesn’t he? It seems to be a continuity – a serious player, and has been for a very long time. In my opinion, he and Joe Root are neck-and-neck in terms of the greatest batsmen of this generation,” Ben Stokes told reporters in Perth, as quoted by the Times of India.
The Englishman added, “You always want to come up with ways of trying to keep the best players quiet. And that’s something that obviously we have to do. It’s going to be a tough thing to be able to do. But if we can keep Steve Smith, to the exclusion of everyone else in the batting order, quiet, then we’ve given ourselves a good chance of achieving what we want.”
Steve Smith returns as Australia captain in great form
Meanwhile, Smith is entering the Ashes series in fine form and with added responsibility as he steps in as Australia captain again for Pat Cummins. This year will be Smith’s third stint leading the Australian team.
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His numbers as captain are incredible, with an average of 68.98 in 40 Tests, even though his full-time leadership ended in 2018 following the ball-tampering incident in South Africa.
After taking a six-week break from cricket, Smith returned by scoring a century for New South Wales, proving that he was ready to dominate the English attack.
I am quite calm: Steve Smith ahead of first Ashes Test
The stand-in captain has said that he now prefers to be calm and relaxed while leading the team, allowing the game to unfold naturally and allowing the players to do their job without pressure.
Smith said at the pre-match press conference, “I’m pretty calm. I think I’ve learned a lot on my journey. The last few times I’ve stood up for Patty, I’ve tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play out. Obviously, I have to do it my way and have my own style. But I’m a lot more laid back these days, cool, and, you know, let guys do their job.”
