Day One A Washout At Uptonsteel County Ground

By Jon Culley, ECB Reporters' Network

Steve Smith’s preparations for a busy summer of international cricket in England suffered the loss of another day’s potential action as day one of Sussex’s LV= Insurance County Championship match against Leicestershire fell foul of a wet outfield.

Australia’s No 1 batter is playing three red-ball matches for the south coast side as he warms up for the World Test Championship final against India at the Oval on June 7, followed by the Ashes series against England, which starts at Edgbaston on June 16.

The match-up with Leicestershire is scheduled to be the second of Smith’s three appearances in Division Two of the Championship. He had one innings in last week’s rain-affected draw at Worcester, in which day three was a complete wash-out, batting for an hour and 19 minutes for his 30 runs, and is due to conclude his Sussex stint against Glamorgan at Hove next week.

There has been criticism of Smith being given a chance to play domestic cricket in England ahead of the Ashes, by doing so reacquainting himself with English conditions. 

Smith says his appearance for Sussex, brief though it is, merely fulfils an ambition to play in the County Championship, arguing that with 14 Ashes Tests in England under his belt, he is already well used to playing here.

To blame for the abandonment at Leicester, which came just after 4.30pm, were intermittent showers falling on a saturated outfield following heavy rain on Wednesday, when the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match between The Blaze and Western Storm had to be abandoned just past the halfway stage.