Quotes from Steve Smith

If I am bowling in a game, that means we're in trouble. So hopefully, it doesn't happen too often.

If you look at the best players around the world, they sum up what people are trying to do and adapt to it and are willing to change and have the confidence to change what they are doing to get the right outcome.

My record probably is better when I'm captain than when I'm not. That sort of pressure doesn't really bother me.

To be able to say I am an Ashes-winning captain... just hearing those words and saying them myself is pretty special.

There are a lot of carbs in beer.

Everyone makes mistakes; it's about the way you respond to it that's really important.

The on-field stuff, setting fields, changing bowlers, that's the easy part. It's making sure all your players are on the same page with what your plans are and what you want from your players and the team. That's the biggest challenge and what you really need to get right if you want your team to be successful.

It's the pinnacle of Australian cricket, playing in an Ashes series.

Obviously the safety and security of the players is the biggest concern.

I think part of being a professional cricket player is being able to adapt to conditions.

I've always been one to want a fair contest between bat and ball even as a batter, so if that's taken away I don't think that's great.

I would have enjoyed playing some county cricket and learning my art that way, but I never had any ambitions at all to play for England, that's for sure.

I'd say that probably 95 per cent of batting is mental and decision-making.

The thing for me is my defence: as long as my defence is in good order then I feel the rest of my game can expand from there.

It depends on who's bowling, how is the wicket playing, how I gonna score and stuff like that or how people are trying to get me out, probably that determines how open I am or otherwise how closed I am.

I got rid of one bat tap I used to have as I was about to face up, and getting rid of that's made me more stable and able to get in better positions and play, particularly fast bowling, a lot easier.

I wear football socks and I actually tape my shoelaces to my socks. I don't like anything to be putting me off. I don't have an excuse of the shoelaces coming off.

I actually think I play better with pressure, that extra pressure when the team needs something more and things like that.

I've faced a lot of short pitched bowling in my life and haven't had too many issues with it.

With training for T20, I try to clear the fence a lot.

I watch the game pretty closely and think of a few things that I'd do perhaps differently to what's going on and throw up ideas here and there as well.

I think and visualise before I play where people are likely to bowl to me and where I am likely to score and try to picture fields that are set and play things over in my mind, where I am going to get runs and how they are looking to get me out.

People say I am a little bit weird with the way I go about things, it's a fine line.

During a Test match I am not a very good sleeper, mainly because I am visualising. Everything is positive. Nothing negative.