Australia's Steve Smith thinks that spin "will play a big part" in the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa.
Although Steve Smith acknowledges that the weather will have a big impact on proceedings, he feels the Australian batters are all in good spirits ahead of the ICC World Test Championship 2025 final, which starts on June 11
Australia's Steve Smith thinks that spin "will play a big part" in the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa.
The final will take place at Lord's Cricket Ground in England, where Australia beat India in the final last time out in 2023.
Top-order batter Smith has a good record at the ground, scoring 525 runs with an average of 58.3.
If he scores 51 runs or more, Smith will overtake Australia's Warren Bardsley as the visiting player with the most runs at the iconic stadium.
The former Australia captain believes the spinners could play a bigger role than expected due to the weather leading up to the match.
"I think spin will play a big part, particularly as the game wears on," Smith said.
"We've only been here a week, but I think it's been a pretty dry start to the season over here. There hasn't there been too much rain, which is rare for England.
"It does look like quite a dry surface and I think the footmarks will definitely come into play as the game wears on.
"I think it's probably, outside of Sydney, my favourite ground to play at. The history, the surface itself.
"It takes a little bit of time getting used to the slope on the one end. You feel like you're falling over a little bit while at the other end you feel quite tall.
"It takes a couple of deliveries just to get used to that from both ends. I think each time you play out here, you certainly get value for your shots, particularly hitting the ball down the hill. It races away so it can be a nice wicket to bat on as we've seen over the years as well."
Although Smith acknowledges the weather will have a big impact on proceedings, he feels the Australian batters are all in good spirits ahead of the final.
"If there's a bit of cloud about and the balls swing around, it can get tricky," Smith added. "Batting on this surface is about just summing it up and playing what's in front of you and being able to adapt accordingly.
"All the batters feel like they're in a good place, so now they are just excited to go out and play. Lord's is a place where we traditionally play pretty good cricket, so we're excited about the prospect of coming up against South Africa."
The World Test Championship final gets underway on June 11.