'Should be a cracker': Steve Smith drops his predictions for WTC 2023 Final

Steve Smith, Australia's key batsman, anticipates favorable batting conditions at the World Test Championship final but acknowledges that the pitch could deteriorate and resemble the challenging conditions India presented during their series in February. The venue in the UK is known for its true pace and bounce, making it an ideal for batting. India is expected to rely on their premier spinners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, to exploit the conditions.

Australia's spin play improved during their Test series against India but they ultimately lost by 2-1. Steve Smith, who captained the team to victory in the third Test in Indore, is one of the Australian batters who honed their skills by playing county cricket in England ahead of the WTC final and is also part of the subsequent Ashes series.

"The Oval can present itself with some spin occasionally particularly as the game wears on so we could face some sort of similarities to what we had in India at certain stages of the game. But The Oval is a wonderful place to play cricket in. Lightening fast outfield, the square goes the whole way across the ground so it is a nice place to bat when you get in and has some decent pace and bounce for an English surface. Should be an absolute cracker," Smith said while speaking to cricket.com.au

"The WTC is a great initiative. It gives every game we play a lot of relevance and for us to have qualified on top and face India in the final is incredibly exciting. It is going to be India and us at the Oval," Smith added. 

WTC Final 2021-23

The World Test Championship final is slated to be played from June 7 to 11. Both teams will be looking to win the championship for the first time since the introduction of the competition in 2019. India, on the other hand, were part of the inaugural WTC final in June 2021. They played against New Zealand and lost by 8 wickets. 

Australia's squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.

Image: AP