'Would be surprised if it wasn't the plan...': Australia great feels England will use 'bodyline' tactic against Steve Smith in The Ashes

Former Australia crickketer Simon Katich believes that England will try to use to " bodyline" tactics when they come up against Steve Smith in the upcoming Ashes series that will begin from November 21. He remarked that Ben Stokes & Co. will take inspiration from what New Zealand bowlers did against Smith a couple of years back in Australia and will execute that strategy during the series.

Notably, the Kiwi bowlers had targeted Smith's body during the Test series against Australia in 2019/20 and had stopped him from scoring runs freely. This led to him not being able to perform at his best and losing his wicket cheaply on multiple occasions.

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“They [Stokes and McCullum] will have seen what New Zealand did to Steve Smith a few years ago so successfully in Australia. I would be surprised if that wasn’t the same plan. As soon as Steve Smith came to the crease there were fielders scattered everywhere. I hate to use the word ‘Bodyline’ but that’s exactly what it was, really," Katich told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Ashes preview show.

Wagner had previousy dominated against Smith

One of the New Zealand bowlers who used the tactic effectively against Smith was left-arm pacer Neil Wagner. He dismissed the batter on a total of four occasions during the series and proved to be nothing short of a nightmare for him. Katich also cited Wagner's example and said that even though the current England bowlers cannot match his pace, they can still effectively play the bodyline tactic.

“Neil Wagner executed it [for New Zealand] and went hard from the word go. Albeit not the same pace as England have got up their sleeves. I’d be very surprised if that doesn’t hit Steve Smith and maybe other Australian batters who are later in the careers in the next few weeks," Katich stated.

Smith to lead Australia in Perth

Meanwhile, Smith will be leading the Australian team in the Ashes opener in Pat Cummins' absence. The latter still hasn't recovered from the lumbar stress fracture that he sustained months ago and that is why will not be featuring in the series opener in Perth.

Australia's squad for 1st Ashes Test: Steven Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.