Steve Smith unsure of playing Ashes in England in 2027

Steve Smith will head to South Africa later this year for the first time since the ball tampering controversy in 2018. | Photo Credit: AP

Australia batter Steve Smith led his team to a 4-1 Ashes triumph in 2025-26 but is unsure if he’ll head to England in 2027 for the next iteration of the iconic showdown.

Though he did not confirm his retirement, Smith said he currently sets smaller targets for himself with regards to his preparation.

“I don’t even know if I’ll be there yet,” Smith told The Telegraph. “I’m kind of a series-by-series proposition, as I’ve been for a while, and that’s [Ashes] still a fair way away for me right now. So, yeah, I’d love to win one there or to have won one there, but you wait and see if that comes to fruition.”

Smith, who has played 125 Tests and scored nearly 11,000 runs, added that his focus remains on the upcoming trip to South Africa for a three-Test series. It will be the first time he visits the country for a Test series since the Sandpapergate in 2018.

“Oh, for me, it’s just another series. All that happened a long time ago, and we’ve played a lot of cricket – we’ve been back to South Africa since then for one-dayers,” he said.

The 37-year-old will is also eager to overcome the challenging batting conditions in South Africa, where wobble seam is likely to be the go-to choice for pacers to attack batters.

“There are some balls now that are just unplayable. Some of these balls just have your name on it, and you just can’t do anything about it.

“If it’s seaming two degrees, you’re not hitting that ball, or you shouldn’t be hitting that ball. And if it’s coming into you, and it’s hitting the top of the stumps and you’re getting trapped in front, you can’t do anything about it,” he said.

Smith also lamented the nature of wickets in use, in Australia and abroad, which tilt the balance in favour of the quicks. During the Ashes last year, England did not pick a single specialist spinner in its playing XI due to such conditions.

During the two-match Bangladesh series, the second game ended inside two days with pacers dominating the proceedings.

“It’s a shame that we’ve had such spicy wickets that it’s got to that point [of not picking spinners], because I love playing a spinner. I love watching spin bowlers bowl. I was a spin bowler myself back in the day. I’d love to see spin play much more of a part in Test cricket again.”