Melbourne, July 22 — Australia's chief selector George Bailey believes a highly motivated Steve Smith remains central to his team's transition in the longer format as they embark on a defining 12-month red-ball cycle.

Smith, with 123 Test caps so far, still remains a critical figure for Australia ahead of a packed international calendar featuring at least 20 Tests, including three high-profile overseas trips. Despite speculation surrounding Smith's long-term future in recent years, Bailey revealed he’s still very motivated for the upcoming challenges in Tests, starting with the home series against Bangladesh next month.

Certainly, in my conversations with him over the last few months, I don't think I've seen him as excited or invigorated around the opportunities and challenges in particular this Test team have over the next period of time. He's probably not on his lonesome there.

“I think for a number of those guys that have played a lot of Test cricket and are at certain stages of their career, you look at some of the series that are coming up and what the opportunities are for this Test team to achieve, and it probably comes as no surprise as to how excited and focused they are.

“I've actually been really quite excited by how pumped Steve is, how much thought and time he's putting into what's coming up. So, yeah, I fully expect him to be a major part of it… There are some really big key series, a chance, I think for this team to really lay down a marker across a number of different conditions as well. I think that's exciting for everyone but, yeah, in particular for him," Bailey was quoted as saying by Cricinfo on Wednesday.

Following home Tests against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay, Australia face a stern examination in South Africa, followed by tours of New Zealand and a blockbuster Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in India early next year, before rounding off the cycle with the 2027 Ashes in England.

Smith's presence at the crucial number four slot provides much-needed stability to an otherwise uncertain Australian batting lineup. While Travis Head continues to open and Alex Carey has provided solid middle-order support, questions remain over Marnus Labuschagne's recent red-ball form.

Furthermore, the number five position remains vacant following veteran opener Usman Khawaja's retirement, with Cameron Green tipped to take over the role. The upcoming South Africa tour also holds emotional significance for Smith, as he returns to play Tests in the country for the first time since the 2018 ball-tampering saga.

Additionally, the subsequent tours to India and England offer senior core players a final shot at redemption after missing out on series victories in 2023. "Always another chance, isn't it. No two series will be the same, but there'll be moments out of those series where they'll look back and wish that things could have gone differently, but there'll also be great things that they would have learnt from that.

"I know everyone fixates on the age, but in terms of the actual growth of the guys, the athletes, they constantly want to learn. They're constantly trying to get better and they're constantly asking questions, particularly around some of those places that do provide different challenges around how they can be better and how they can make the entire team better the next time that we get that opportunity. I think all of that builds to something… it's going to be a challenge, but it's going to be a really incredible, exciting 18 months," concluded Bailey.

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