Steve Smith defends bold no-spinner Ashes call despite SCG scare

Stand-in captain Steven Smith is refusing to second-guess Australia’s bold decision to play without a specialist spinner in the final Ashes Test at the SCG, even after the surface offered far more turn than expected in a match that still ended in a dominant 4-1 series win over England.

Smith backs real-time calls as Australia flaunt frightening depth

Smith admitted post-match that spin became a bigger factor than he had anticipated on what he described as one of the best batting pitches he has seen at his home ground. Yet the makeshift attack still did the job, underlining the depth that allowed Australia to crush England despite limited involvement from big three quicks Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and premier offie Nathan Lyon across the series.

With part-timers and seamers taking on the containment role usually handled by Lyon, Australia trusted their batting weight and relentless pace stocks to wear England down. From an Indian lens, the no-spinner call at the SCG feels almost unthinkable – imagine Team India going into a turning day-five surface at Chepauk without a frontline tweaker – but Australia’s confidence in their resources was richly rewarded.

Smith, though, made it clear that this was not about rewriting selection doctrine, but about reading the situation on the fly and backing the XI chosen.

"We do things in real time" — Steven Smith

With Australia now boasting an Ashes win built on squad depth rather than just the usual stars, the message to the rest of the world – especially teams like India planning future tours Down Under – is simple: this side can hurt you even when Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon are barely involved. Selection gambles, at least for now, look like a luxury Australia can afford.