Steve Smith admits uncertainty over long term future despite series win

He has conquered Sri Lanka for the first time and rediscovered his best touch, but Steve Smith remains unsure what his long term future in the game looks like.

Having conquered Sri Lanka for the first time, Steve Smith still won’t commit to another crack at a breakthrough Test series win in India despite finding a rich vein of form in his mid-30s.

The stand-in captain was named player of the series after making centuries in both of Australia’s thumping Test wins that secured the Aussies’ first Test series win on Sri Lankan soil since 2011.

Smith on Sunday also became the first Australian non-wicketkeeper to take 200 catches in Test cricket.

Having gone more than 17 months without a Test ton, Smith has scored four in his past five Tests.

But he will not make a definitive call on whether he wants to be part of Australia’s next Asian Test tour to India in early 2027, when the Aussies will look to snap a drought stretching back to 2004.

“I don’t know. I’m just taking it day by day at the moment. We’ll see where everything’s at. But I’m enjoying it at the moment. So keep playing, keep enjoying it. And take it day by day,” Smith, 35, said.

Job done. Picture: Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP

Smith said his troublesome elbow was improving despite grimacing in the field while throwing late in Sri Lanka’s innings.

Cricket Australia will in the coming days confirm whether Smith will lead the Aussies in the Champions Trophy, with Pat Cummins and Mitch Marsh both ruled out.

The Aussies wrapped up a nine-wicket win in the second Test before lunch on day four at Galle International Stadium, easing to a target of 75 after bowling the hosts out for 231 in their second innings on a pitch that by this point was turning dramatically.

Under pressure Marnus Labuschagne dodged a second cheap dismissal for the match, finishing 26 not out to be there at the end with Usman Khawaja (27 not out).

Steve Smith battled elbow trouble throughout the second Test. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Labuschagne hit the winning run to square leg off the part-time bowling of the retiring Dimuth Karunaratne.

It meant a fifth win in six Tests for Australia, with the exception being a rain-marred draw in Brisbane against India.

Smith continued a fortnight of milestones when he swallowed a lob at short fine leg after Nathan Lyon’s bounce forced Kusal Mendis into an error after the Sri Lankan gloveman had posted his second half-century of the match.

Steve Smith is the first non-keeper to take 200 Test catches for Australia. Picture: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP

After a couple of near misses, Beau Webster picked up his second wicket of the innings, bowling Lahiru Kumara for six as the tailender tried to slog across the line.

Travis Head made a swift 20 before edging one from Prabath Jayasuriya, but that was as good as things got for Sri Lanka.

Debutant Cooper Connolly’s wait for a first-class wicket continues after he was employed for just five wicketless overs across the Test.

Smith remained adamant that the West Australian youngster had a bright future at the level despite falling for four in his lone innings of the match.

“We’ve got some pretty good batters in the side at the moment that have done a good job for a long period of time,” Smith said of Connolly’s short-term prospects of holding his spot.

“And look we saw in this game, we wanted some extra batting, a guy that could bowl a few overs. I perhaps could have used him a few more overs throughout, but a lot of the bowlers did a really good job, too.

“So look, he’s a talented, young kid. He’s got a really bright future. Everywhere he’s played so far, he’s stood up and done a good job. It was a pretty tricky time to come out and bat, I suppose, in the first innings he was trying to be quite aggressive.”

The series win marked a redemption of sorts for stand-in captain Smith, who had been at the helm in 2016 when Australia was swept 3-0 on these shores.

“I think the guys did an exceptional job, right from our camp in Dubai,” Smith series of the series as a whole.

“The guys turned up and wanted to find ways to be successful here. And I think every individual found a method that worked.

“Everyone stood up at different times throughout this series and did a terrific job. The batters found methods that they were able to survive with, and put pressure on the bowlers, and everyone was different. That was the beauty of it.

“Then the spinners I thought, did a tremendous job, and Mitchell Starc did a tremendous job. It was a great series to be a part of.

“We’ve learned so much about playing in the subcontinent, and we put all that into play out here in the last two games, and it’s been great to witness.”

Originally published as Steve Smith admits uncertainty over long term future despite series win