Steve Smith will be the lynchpin of the Australian batting line-up when they square off against India at the World Test Championship final at The Oval in London next week.
The Oval is a happy hunting ground for Smith, who turned 34 today, June 2. In three Tests he has played at the venue, he has scored 391 runs at an astounding average of 97.75, with a highest of 143.
And he is looking forward to the title match beginning June.
'To be in a WTC final is exciting,' Smith told cricket.com.au. 'The team is looking forward to it. I believe it will be a belter of a game.'
'It will be a great occasion. We'll get lots of fans out there, probably more Indian than Australian. It's going to be great fun and the guys are looking forward to it,' Smith added.
Seeing similarities with Indian pitch conditions, Smith said, '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.'
'The Oval is a wonderful place to play cricket. It's a lightning fast outfield and square goes all the way across the ground so it's a nice place to bat when you get in. It could have some decent pace and bounce as well for an English surface.'
'It should be an absolute cracker!'
