“I want to put myself in a position where I can have that kind of impact,” Smith said. “If that does mean not partaking in the World Cup, then we’ll have to go down that path, but hopefully we don’t have to go there. I’ve made a bit of progress with it the last few weeks. I started some batting, just 10 minutes at a time, and basically my path now to getting back to playing is building up from there. The Ashes is the primary focus from my point of view, so I need to be in a position where I can bat for long periods of time, and at the moment I can’t do that, which is annoying.” The 32-year-old Smith is ranked second in the list of top test batsmen in the world. He has a staggering record with the bat in one of the world’s most high-profile cricket series. He has eight hundreds and scored close to 2,000 runs in three Ashes. Australia batting spearhead Steve Smith is hopeful of recovering from an elbow injury for this year’s T20 World Cup but says he will skip the tournament if needed to be fully fit for the team’s Ashes defence against England at home. Former captain Steve was ruled out of Australia’s tour of the West Indies and Bangladesh with a left elbow injury. Australia’s tour includes five T20 matches in Bangladesh in August. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, having been shifted from India the T20 World Cup will be played in the UAE and Oman from October to November. Smith told Cricket Australia’s website, “There’s still a bit of time between now and the T20 World Cup. It’s slow, but I’m going OK. I’d love to be part of the World Cup, for sure, but from my point of view, test cricket, that’s my main goal: to be right for the Ashes and try to emulate what I’ve done in the last few Ashes series I’ve been involved in.”
