'Takes me two hits' - Smith already feels in the Ashes groove as captaincy looms

Steven Smith had his first hit against bowlers since the Hundred finished in late August on Tuesday, but declared he was already "ready" for the Ashes after his break in New York.

Smith, who is set to captain Australia in the first Test due to Pat Cummins' back injury, returned to Sydney last week and had three nets against throwdowns before facing the New South Wales attack during training at Cricket Central as he ramps up towards the start of the Ashes.

He will play two Sheffield Shield matches - against Queensland at the Gabba and Victoria at the SCG before facing England - but believed he was already good to go having in recent times found downtime from the game more profitable than endless training or extra matches.

Unlike earlier in the year when he was recovering from a finger injury sustained in the World Test Championship final and left the tour of West Indies, Smith did not hunt out a baseball cage in New York and only picked up a bat on his return home.

"Honestly, it takes me two hits to get sorted," Smith said. "I feel like I'm ready to go now. I feel like I'm moving really nicely. I feel in a good place.

"I've been training quite hard. I've been doing a lot of lifting, trying to get a bit stronger. And I did all my strength tests yesterday and they're all as good as they've ever been. So I feel like I'm going good."

Cummins has yet to be officially ruled out of the opening Test, but time is quickly running out and Smith said on Tuesday that he had still yet to start bowling. "Things can turn around pretty quickly so we'll see where everything lands with him," Smith said.

"He's obviously got a few things to tick off and get into his bowling, but he was in good spirits and the team's obviously better with him in it for sure. Hopefully he can get right and if he plays three Tests or five Tests or two Tests, as many as we can get out of him, it's the best for the team."

The duo have worked well as a captain-vice captain combination with Smith standing in on six occasions since Cummins' promotion, winning five of those Tests. His tactical nous has particularly come to the fore on the subcontinent and, although Smith himself played it down, his head-to-head with Ben Stokes looms as a fascinating aspect of the early Ashes exchanges.

Even if unable to play, Cummins is expected to travel with the Australia squad and Smith was confident the change of leadership would prove smooth but added he would do things in his style.

"It's nothing out of the ordinary," Smith said. "I know how the team operates. We're in a good place. So if it happens, I'll look forward to it. I think the important thing is doing it my way. I think when I get out on the field, I've got a certain style and the way I like to do things and I need to be authentic.

"I think it's worked well when I've stood in over the last few years. It'll just be a seamless sort of transition if that comes around."

Smith has rarely had a problem with the dual responsibilities of captaincy and batting: his average when captain is 68.98 against 49.90 when in the ranks. One of the six Tests where he has filled in was during the 2021-22 Ashes when Cummins was a Covid close contact in Adelaide with Smith making 93 in the first innings.

"It's interesting how the brain works, I suppose," Smith said when asked whether he's aware of how the captaincy makes a difference. "I feel like I kind of go to another level and try and set a standard.

"I think I've chilled out a lot over the last probably four or five years, just a bit more relaxed out in the middle and maybe not as cranky at times. I like to listen to people, get their opinions, and then obviously make a decision when I'm in charge."

In terms of losing Cummins' bowling, Smith was of little doubt that Scott Boland could fill the breach. "I mean, we've got a pretty good replacement in Scott Boland who I think is arguably one of the best bowlers in the world," he said. "His record in Australia is outrageous, so we're good there.

"Then the other two [Starc and Hazlewood] obviously have done a wonderful job for a long time as well. So I don't think it disrupts too much."