England captain Ben Stokes emphasized the importance of containing Australian skipper Steve Smith in the upcoming Ashes series, while praising both Smith and Joe Root as the greatest batsmen of their generation ahead of Friday’s first Test in Perth. The statement came during a pre-match press conference on Thursday, where Stokes discussed strategies for the crucial series.Smith and Root have accumulated an impressive 24,020 Test runs and 75 centuries between them. While Root struggles in Australia with an average of 35.68 and no centuries, Smith maintains a formidable average of 56.01 against England, including 12 hundreds.“Not too much has changed because he just gets runs against us, doesn’t he? That seems to be a constant — a serious player, has been for a very long time. Him and Joe Root, neck-and-neck in my opinion in terms of the greatest batters of this generation,” Stokes said.“You always want to come up with ways to try and keep the best players quiet. And that’s something that obviously we’re going to have to do. It’ll be a hard thing to be able to do. But if we can keep Steve Smith, minus all the other guys in the batting order, quiet, then we’ve given ourselves a good chance to achieve in the goal that we want,” he added.Smith will lead Australia for the third time this year, stepping in for Pat Cummins. His captaincy record is remarkable, with an average of 68.98 in 40 Tests as captain, despite his full-time leadership ending in 2018 following the South Africa ball-tampering controversy.After scoring a century for New South Wales following a six-week break from cricket, Smith expressed confidence in his current form and leadership approach.“I’m pretty chilled. I think I’ve learned a lot over my journey. The last couple of times that I’ve stood in for Patty I’ve tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play. Obviously I’ve got to do it my own way out there and have my own style. But I’m a lot more relaxed these days, chilled, and you know, let the guys go about their work,” Smith said.The first Test of the Ashes series begins Friday in Perth, with Smith’s leadership and batting prowess potentially playing a crucial role in the outcome.
