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Australia's cricketing star Steve Smith has declared himself ready for the upcoming Ashes series. The declaration comes after his recent break in New York. Smith, who is set to lead Australia in the first Test due to Pat Cummins's back injury, returned to Sydney last week and got back into practice with three net sessions. He faced the New South Wales attack during a training session at Cricket Central as he gears up for the Ashes start. Smith will play two Sheffield Shield matches against Queensland at the Gabba and Victoria at the SCG before facing England. However, he feels that he's already ready to go. He said, Honestly, it takes me two hits to get sorted. Smith added, I feel like I'm moving really nicely. I feel in a good place. He also mentioned that he's been training hard and doing a lot of lifting to get stronger for this big series ahead. Unlike earlier this year when he was recovering from a finger injury, Smith didn't search for a baseball cage in New York. He only picked up a bat on his return home. Speaking about the dual responsibilities of captaincy and batting, Smith's average as captain is 68.98 against 49.90 when not leading the team. He said, I feel like I kind of go to another level and try and set a standard. Even if he can't play, Cummins is expected to travel with the Australia squad. Smith said, Things can turn around pretty quickly so we'll see where everything lands with him. He also expressed confidence in Scott Boland filling the breach of losing Cummins's bowling. 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.
