Having arrived at Beckenham and having worked out their final preparations for the 2025 World Test Championship Final against South Africa, Australia struck while the iron was hot. Steve Smith was perhaps the standout performer during the full training session for the very first time on English soil, looking sharp and confident in his actions. Players battled to overcome travel fatigue, but Smith was in a league of his own in terms of focus and timing. Mitchell Starc was running in full flow, too. Smith was in his element in English conditions. He was kept very busy in the nets—the hours just flew—sharing long spells with Marnus Labuschagne and the openers Usman Khawaja and Sam Kontas. At 34 years of age, Smith moved harmoniously with the plan of gearing up for another big Test at Lord’s. Australia still has a tough call to make: Who will open with Khawaja? Labuschagne's experience does count heavily in his favor: on the other hand, Konstas impressed in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with his promise and panache, keeping the door wide open. Smith told ICC Digital after the session: “I am excited to be back in the UK (United Kingdom) for another World Test Championship Final. It is great to be here and I love playing cricket in England. It’s a little bit fresh today and there is a little bit of wind around, but it’s nice to start our preparation and get a bit of rhythm, hit quite a few balls and we are looking forward to Lord’s now” Mat Inns Runs HS Avg 100s 50s 22 42 2255 215 55.00 8 9 (Steve Smith’s Test stats in England) The drills were hard-fought for well over three and a half hours. Starc, Scott Boland, and a stand-in pacer Brendan Doggett put in work. They even got local bowlers to mimic the awkward left-arm bounce of Marco Jansen—obviously, they're watching South Africa's threats very closely. Josh Hazlewood and Josh Inglis remain MIA from the squad, but the playing XI continues to hold the limelight. With the second opener's spot still up in the air, the training got the team useful information. Now with the 4th spot, Smith's focus is to bat through the English summer, soak in Lord's vibes, and show up when it counts—in other words, as he always does.