The Ashes defeat left England’s hopes of reaching the next ICC World Test Championship Final in 2027 hanging by a thread, with the side currently sitting in seventh place on the standings ahead of a busy home summer that will feature three-match series against New Zealand and Pakistan.
While Smith was disappointed with his output in Australia, the 25-year-old is keen to use the tour as a learning experience as he tries to lock down his role as first-choice keeper in England’s Test XI.
“It (the Ashes series) was tough,” Smith told ESPN Cricinfo.
“You go to a tour like that with high expectations of trying to do as well as you can, and it didn’t pan out that way. Obviously I would have loved to have put some more returns there across five games for us to win a few more games, but the reality is that didn’t happen, and I didn’t play as well as I wanted to or was required for the team.
“It’s obviously disappointing, but you can take that as a learning experience. You are playing against a world-class as well, and I think sometimes that gets lost a little bit, how good the opposition is. It’s learning, but I’m coming into (the home summer) fresh and I love being back at (County side) Surrey and playing here.”
