Last Updated on 6 months ago by Charbel Coorey
Steve Smith will captain Australia in the first Test of the 2025/26 Ashes series, which begins on November 21 at Perth’s Optus Stadium. Smith will deputise for Pat Cummins, who is out of at least the first Test as he recovers from a lumbar bone stress injury.
While Cummins’ absence is a blow, the news is not all bad for Australia. Smith is a fine tactician who reads the game well. Also, his batting goes to a whole new level, with his numbers significantly superior when leading the team.
Steve Smith average as Test captain nearly 20 points more than when non-captain
Here is a breakdown of Steve Smith’s Test numbers when captain compared to non-captain.
| As captain | As non-captain |
| 40 matches, 69 innings | 79 matches, 143 innings |
| 4,139 runs | 6,338 runs |
| Average: 68.98 | Average: 49.90 |
| Fifties: 14 | Fifties: 29 |
| Hundreds: 17 | Hundreds: 19 |
In January 2025, Steve Smith became the fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Test runs. 4,139 of those have come as captain at an extraordinary average of 68.98. In these 69 innings, he has crossed fifty 31 times, with 17 converted to hundreds.
As non-captain, Smith’s conversion rate is still a fine 39.58%. As captain, this shoots up to 54.83%. He enjoys the responsibility of the captaincy, and he often leads the way with the bat.
Australia will need Smith in the runs against a potent England attack on what are expected to be lively pitches. There is a sense of confidence he still has that in him, considering he bounced back to form with hundreds in consecutive matches in last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Smith then struck back-to-back hundreds in Sri Lanka as well, where he was captain.
“He’ll be the captain, and England fear him. That’s the key. He just marmalises England and has done for years,” said Kerry O’Keeffe in a recent interview for CricBlog.
“His record as captain is superior with the bat than it is as a player. There’s lots of pluses, even though the minus is Pat Cummins not being there. The fact that Smith is the likely captain adds more than Cummins’ loss to this team.”
Cummins is aiming to be fit for the second Test in Brisbane. If Australia take a 1-0 series lead in Perth, then they may look to push Cummins’ return date back a little depending on his progress. Smith is crucial to that scenario eventuating.
