Steve Smith at centre of Aussie hype after Ashes pitch reveal

The cricket world has reacted to the first glance of the Edgbaston pitch for the first Ashes Test and fans have called the wicket a 'batting paradise' sparking excitement around Steve Smith's potential. Australia's win against India in the Test Championship final at The Oval saw the Aussie bowlers dominate and batters perform on a green wicket that still showed promise on day 5.

However, England captain Ben Stokes has been warning the Aussies his team will implement their aggressive approach during the Ashes. While legends such as Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh have questioned whether this will work against the world class Aussie attack, England are defiant.

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This saw Stokes call for curators to provide quick and bouncy wickets to allow the English batters to attack with their swashbuckling approach. And it appears, for at least the first Test at least, Stokes has received his wish.

Images of the first pitch three days out from the Ashes shows an Edgbaston wicket looking harder and with less green on it than in the past. While this appears to be exactly what Stokes has called for in preparation for the Ashes, fans have been left questioning whether it's a 'risky' ploy for England.

Smith broke a number of records on his way to a century at The Oval and the mercurial batter favours batting in English conditions. He also enjoys batting in Australian conditions.

Not only does the pitch appear to favour Smith, Marnus Labuscaghne and even David Warner, Australia's bowlers will also favour their approach of hitting the ground hard. This sparked a debate on social media on whether the pitch will favour the home team, or fall into the hands of the Aussies.

Josh Hazlewood was the latest Aussie bowler to question England's tactics ahead of the first Ashes test. Having heard of Stokes' requests, Hazlewood said he would have moved the other way if he was the England captain.

"It surprised me when (Stokes made his pitch request). It might have been a furphy, who knows," Hazlewood said. "But if I am England, I am probably going the opposite way.

"You are probably going green wickets that are doing a fair bit, and then back yourself to make more runs than us on those types of wickets. "They come to Australia and the wickets are harder, flatter and faster. And we've seen the results."

Steve Smith chasing cricket history in Ashes showdown

Smith and Travis Head helped turn the game in Australia's favour during the Test Championship final with their 200+ record partnership one of the big differences between the two sides. And heading into the Ashes in strong touch, Smith sits on 3,044 runs after 56 innings.

He needs only 130 runs to surpass Aussie cricket great Steve Waugh to move to fourth on the all-time scoring list in the Ashes. He needs 593 runs to reach second spot and overtake the great Jack Hobbs.

However, incredibly, Smith is still short 1,984 runs from the iconic Sir Don Bradman. Bradman achieved his 5,028 runs in just 63 innings.

Last time Smith was in the UK for the Ashes, he scored 774 runs at an average of 110.57 to win player of the series. He scored three hundreds and one double century in the historic series, which saw Australia retain the Ashes after a series draw.

with AAP

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