The superstar Australia National Cricket Team batsman Steve Smith has opened up on taking a total break from cricket after featuring in his team’s last ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match.

Steve Smith revealed that he hadn’t picked up a bat after being bowled by Mohammed Shami in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and took time off from the game.

Also Read: Punjab Kings order BCCI to create 16-week IPL season to compete with NFL, NBA, EPL

I hadn’t hit a ball since I missed a full toss off Mohammed Shami – Steve Smith

While captaining Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against India, Steve Smith led his team from the front. He scored 73 runs off 96 balls, playing a key role in Australia scoring 264 runs.

His innings was brought to an end by the veteran right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami on the fourth ball of the 37th over. The Indian pacer bowled a full toss to Smith, who came down on a line of leg-stump and missed his shot, which resulted in the ball hitting the base of the off-stump.

Australia eventually lost the match against India by 4 wickets and got knocked out of the competition. After that game, Steve Smith made a conscious decision not to touch a bat and stay away from the game. Just recently, he made his comeback to cricket and started training for the ICC World Test Championship final against South Africa.

“I’d normally have a bat laying around the house somewhere and just pick it up and do a bit of shadow batting and stuff. But I made a conscious decision to try and just let it go for a while. It was good,” he said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“I hadn’t hit a ball since I missed a full toss off Mohammed Shami in the Champions Trophy. Fortunately, everything sort of clicked into place immediately. I feel like I’m moving really well, I feel strong and just ready to get into it now,” he added.

“Normally how it works is my first hit’s good, my second hit’s awful, and then I’d get better from there. But both hits were just really good and I was like, hopefully it doesn’t turn around now and I don’t have to spend hours in the nets the next couple of days.”

I haven’t felt under a great deal of pressure – Steve Smith

Steve Smith further said that he is hopeful of continuing his good form in red-ball cricket as he had registered the scores of 141 and 131 in his last two outings against Sri Lanka. He said:

“I play a lot of back foot shots here, I don’t tend to get too far forward to the ball. I try and score really square of the wicket. It kind of just suits me in a way. Hopefully can kick off where I left off the last couple of Tests that we played [in Sri Lanka].”

The modern-day batting great also said that he has not been under a great deal of pressure throughout his cricket career. He stated:

“I feel like I’ve been in the team for a while and I haven’t felt under a great deal of pressure. Maybe a little bit after Adelaide last year was the most I’ve felt.

“And maybe [that’s] why I came out the next game and was really, really hungry to get a good score in Brisbane. But that was external talk and things cross my desk all the time. People send me things that people are saying. So I don’t know, maybe something clicked in me and I wanted to get back to the position of being a bit more comfortable again.”

There’s a fine balance, of course – Steve Smith

Steve Smith further emphasized on the importance of focusing more on the mental side and not giving all of his energy in nets as he is getting older. He said:

“We’re a bit older, we’ve hit a lot of balls. It’s about having that mental side as switched on as it can be for the big moments. And you don’t want to use up all your energy in the nets.

“There’s a fine balance, of course. I’m someone that needs to feel really prepared. And I don’t want to leave any stone unturned in my preparation so that when I go to the middle, I’m ready to play.”