England captain Ben Stokes has admitted he would "prefer" counties to snub Australia star Steve Smith, following reports he is eyeing a stint in the County Championship ahead of next year's Ashes.
It has been reported that Smith, who has never played Championship cricket before, has held informal talks with several counties about a short stint of three or four games ahead of the Ashes. Australia's other key batter Marnus Labuschagne has already agreed to return to Glamorgan.
Labuschagne first represented Glamorgan in 2019 ahead of that year's Ashes series, scoring 1,114 runs at an average of 65.52, and after coming into the side as a concussion replacement for Smith during the second Ashes Test at Lord's he has developed into one of the best batters in the world.
Fringe players Marcus Harris and Michael Neser will also feature in the Championship next year in a bid to push their case for Ashes selection, while other players may also seek county stints. And when asked about the prospect of Smith playing for a county ahead of the Ashes, Stokes chose his words carefully.
"I guess it's good for the county game to see players of Steve's calibre want to come over and play," the England skipper said. "But I don't know.
"I think it's one of those where you'd probably prefer them not to get any game time out here before the Ashes. But at the same time, it is what it is."
Trevor Bayliss was an outspoken critic of counties signing Australian players before the Ashes during his time as England's head coach, citing the fact that Australia would never allow English players to get experience in the Sheffield Shield before an Ashes trip Down Under.
"Cricket Australia won't let them come out and play Shield cricket, that is for sure," Bayliss said during the 2017-18 Ashes series. "Maybe we should look at the other way and stop a few Aussie boys going over there to get the experience."
It was a point Bayliss reiterated last year, telling the Daily Mail: "Mate, you won't find Sheffield Shield teams rushing to sign England players before an Ashes series in Australia, that's for sure."
