Things going on in background, focus still on Champions Trophy: Steve Smith

Australian captain Steve Smith, who will lead his country for the first time in a 50-over ICC event, quashed concerns of the ongoing pay dispute having a negative effect on the performances of the World Champions in the ICC Champions Trophy. Australia are set to begin their campaign on Friday when they face New Zealand at Edgbaston. The pay dispute has been continuum ever since Cricket Australia decided to scrap the existing revenue sharing model which was around for 20 years. The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) raised the concerns of the cricketers with the CA and since then there have been a series of discussions between both parties with no concrete conclusion. CT our focus, ACA will handle pay scuffle Smith said that Australia recognises the importance of this eight-nation tournament, which comes once in every four years hence their entire focus is on the 18-day event. “For us, we are focusing on the tournament,” he told the media in Birmingham on Thursday (June 1). “Obviously, there are some things going on in the background but for me, it’s about focusing on the tournament. “These tournaments come around every four years – or two years, with the World Cup, so these are the big tournaments and these are the ones you really want to win. My focus is on that and I’ll let the ACA handle everything else outside of that,” Smith said. Australia rued missing out on some much-needed practice as their warm-up clash against Pakistan was washed out. New Zealand, on the other hand, were lucky to get a full game against Sri Lanka, where they mowed down a gigantic score of 357 with utmost ease. Shift from T20 to 50 overs takes a little time Half of the Australian squad is coming from India, where they played in the IPL for seven months; have to adjust to the demands of 50-over cricket. Smith said that the adjustment will take a little time though playing with the white ball does help the players coming from T20 cricket. “It takes a little bit of time, I think. We’ve been playing a lot of white-ball cricket, so I guess that helps. You just have to realise that 50 overs are a lot longer than 20, and you can rein things back in and know that you can bring the gear back down a bit, but also have the gear to go up at the back end of the game or if you want to take someone on,” said Smith. “It’s taken a few guys a little bit of time to bring their games back down a level, not try and overhit the ball, particularly in England. It’s a place where the outfields are so fast and you don’t have to actually overhit it. The guys have been working on that.” Australia and New Zealand have been a part of a lot of memorable encounters. Both sides have played two ODI series each against each other both home and away so they know what to expect on Friday. “They have got some good new-ball bowlers who can swing the ball around, and if there’s a bit there we’ll have to be watchful. If it’s good batting and the sun is out, then hopefully we can put a bit of pressure on those guys and try and play the way we did in Australia against them. I thought we played really well there,” Smith pointed out. Australia and New Zealand have played against each other in the finals of the 2015 World Cup and the 2009 Champions Trophy. Australia came out victorious on both occasions. The Kiwis have not registered a single win against the World Champions in the ICC Champions Trophy in 5 clashes.

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Things going on in background, focus still on Champions Trophy: Steve Smith

Smith dismissed fears of his team not concentrating on the job in hand due to the ongoing pay dispute with the CA.

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