ENG vs AUS 5th Test: Steve Smith unsure about his participation in Ashes 2027

Smith further stated that he would like to tick off winning an Ashes series in England, and also said that the Australian squad in the previous four to five years has been amazing.

"It's something that I certainly haven't done in my career, and something I'd like to tick off, whether I get there or not, it's a different question. The squad we've had over the last four or five years has been amazing. So hopefully we can keep growing, getting better," said the 36-year-old cricketer.

The stand-in skipper also heaped praise on wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey by saying that he was unbelievable behind the stumps and also contributed with the willow.

"He was unbelievable with both bat and gloves, I think. Just the way he was able to go up to the stumps, in particular to the quicks. Those guys are bowling late 130s [kph] almost hitting 140s at times. And he's just taken them easy. He works incredibly hard on it. And against this opposition, we thought that was a real threat, being able to keep them stuck on their crease and not allow them to dance at our bowlers. And he just did that so well, and the guys bowling to it just reciprocated and put the ball in the right areas," said Smith.

Usman Khawaja's statistics

Australia's traditional opening batsman, Usman Khawaja, also made his final appearance for the side. The 39-year-old veteran scored 6206 runs in 87 Test matches and 157 innings at an average of 43.39. Khawaja notched up 16 hundreds and 28 half-centuries in the longest format.

In ODIs, the left-handed batter made 1554 runs in 40 matches and 39 innings at an average of 42, including two centuries and 12 fifties. In T20Is, the veteran scored 241 runs in nine outings with the help of one half-century.

(With ANI Inputs)

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