Smith bats away retirement talk, keeps England guessing ahead of final Ashes Test

Australia skipper Steve Smith said Saturday he had no end date to call time on his career, while keeping England guessing on how his team will line up for the fifth and final Ashes Test.

- 

With the retirement of Usman Khawaja after the Sydney Test on Sunday and Nathan Lyon out injured, Smith will be the oldest player in the Australian lineup alongside Scott Boland.

Asked if he would still be playing at the next Ashes in England in 2027, the 36-year-old was noncommittal, but said he was enjoying his cricket.

"I've said it for a while, I'm taking it day by-day, series-by-series, and we'll see where things land," said Smith, who has played 122 Tests and scored more than 10,000 runs.

"I feel like I'm doing alright at the moment, I'm enjoying it, I'm contributing, and having fun. So there's no real end date for me.

"I think with obviously Usman dropping off, he's one of our experienced players, so it probably wouldn't be ideal if him and I went out this week, for instance," he added. "So no, I want to keep playing."