Joe Root: Australia's Steve Smith surprised by England Test captain's T20 omission
- Published
Smith and Root are both key members of their countries Test and one-day international sides but Root has lost his place in England's T20 team
England v Australia Twenty20 series |
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Venue: Ageas Bowl, Southampton. Dates: 4 Sept, 6 Sept, 8 Sept |
Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, Radio 4 LW, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary and in-play clips on the BBC Sport website. Highlights on BBC Two at 23:20 BST. Second T20 on 6 September is live on BBC One from 13:50 BST |
Australia's Steve Smith says he is surprised England have left Joe Root out of their squad for the upcoming Twenty20 series between the two sides.
Test captain Root, who has not played an international T20 since May 2019, has been omitted with England opting for more powerful batsmen.
"It's a surprise. Joe is a terrific player across all formats," said Smith.
"I guess England are opting for all-out power and are continuing to go that way."
Root averages 35.72 in 32 T20Is but has only played 12 of England's 32 matches in the format since the last World Cup in 2016.
Smith, who like Root is better known for his Test exploits, is likely to be a key player for Australia as they build towards the 2021 T20 World Cup.
The 31-year-old averages 83.33 in T20Is since being recalled in October 2019 following a three-year absence.
The three-match T20 series begins on Friday, followed by three one-day internationals.
"I know my role within this team," said the former Australia captain. "It's important every player has a role to play and understands the way they play their best.
"I know if I'm batting with someone like Glenn Maxwell or Aaron Finch my role is to get them on strike and let them smack it.
"For me it's about hitting gaps, sort of playing an anchor role and fixing things up if the big boys don't get out there and smack it.
"We all know our roles and I'm comfortable with mine."
The series will also see Smith return to England for the first time since he dominated last summer's Ashes series, averaging 110.57 with three hundreds as Australia retained the urn.
During that series Smith was booed by supporters for his role in the Australia ball-tampering scandal, something that will not be possible this month with the series played behind closed doors because of coronavirus restrictions.
"Maybe [it would be different], who knows?" Smith said. "It's just a shame there's no crowds because we love entertaining and playing in front of people.
"We'll just do our bit, coming here to play some cricket, and hopefully there's plenty of viewers on TV, yelling abuse at it!"