Australia’s ace batter Steve Smith said that the 10-day break between the third and fourth Test of the ongoing Ashes 2023 series was a welcome one for him as he was emotionally and mentally drained after playing his 100th Test at Headingley.
Smith added that his 100th Test was an emotional moment for him and it drained him mentally though he couldn’t do much in his milestone Test as he was dismissed for 22 and 2 as Australia lost the match to England by 3 wickets in an entertaining encounter in Leeds.
“Honestly, I needed a break. It was quite a draining week mentally with emotions flying around at what I'd achieved. I usually don't like to think about that kind of thing, but it was quite a big milestone individually. I was just quite mentally drained from, to begin with,” said Smith on The Unplayable Podcast.
He further said that he did not feel as switched on as he would’ve liked at Headingley.
“I certainly didn't feel as switched on as I would have liked out in the middle. It's been good to refresh and I feel a lot more focused mentally this week. I feel like I've got through some pretty tough periods; Lord’s when the lights were on, and had an impact in that game. Didn't have as much impact in the first and third games as I'd like,” Smith added.
He talked about his performance in England as he scored a century against India in the WTC 2023 final and another ton against England in the second match of Ashes 2023.
“But we've played four Test matches here, I've got two hundreds in four games, which is probably better than my record overall, in terms of hundreds scored and games played. Hopefully, I can have an impact in the last two,” said Smith.
The series now stands at 2-1 in Australia’s favor with the fourth Test in Manchester to begin from July 19 onwards.
