Australia stand-in captain Steve Smith has quashed speculation of retirement ahead of the fifth and final Test of the 2025-26 Ashes at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) starting on January 4. Billed as the greatest red-ball hitter of the modern era, Smith has experienced a relative dip in form in recent years, at least by his own lofty standards.
Smith averaged a remarkable 62.84 in his Test career at the end of 2019, showing sensational consistency over a long period. However, since then he has seen a seven-run drop in his overall batting average, which now stands at 55.85 after 122 matches. While Smith still averaged over 50 in 2021, 2022 and 2025, he didn’t produce quite the same game-changing dominance that once defined the prime of his career.
Ahead of the Sydney Test, Smith made it clear that retirement was not on his mind at the moment. The 35-year-old said he is taking his career on a “day-by-day, series-by-series” basis and has not set any timeline for an exit. from international cricket.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing at the end of this week. I’ve been saying that for a while — I’m taking it day by day, series by series. We’ll see where things land. I feel like I’m doing everything right at this point. I’m having fun. I’m contributing and I’m having fun. There’s no real end date for me and I keep telling myself while I’m playing. Saturday’s pregame press conference.
Smith announced his retirement after Australia were knocked out of the 2025 Champions Trophy after losing against India in the semi-final. Reflecting on his role as a senior member of the team, Smith emphasized the importance of guiding the younger players and passing on his experience of Test cricket, especially as the team continues to evolve.
“It was great to be a part of and now as a senior player I hope I can help some of the players that come through and teach them the game of Test cricket. I think that’s my role now,” he added.
Over the past four years, Smith has amassed 3,376 runs from 47 matches (83 innings) at an average of 46.88, including ten hundreds and 15 fifties. However, by his own lofty standards, he endured his least productive Ashes series so far, scoring 136 runs from three matches (six innings) at an average of 45.33, with just one half-century.
He led Australia in the three-match series without Pat Cummins, winning two and losing one. Given that Smith hasn’t enjoyed a breakout streak yet, he’ll be looking forward to it finish high in the fifth Test in Sydney to lead Australia to a 4–1 series win.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
January 3, 2026
