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.
