PAUL NEWMAN: Counties should snub Steve Smith and help England’s cause of winning the Ashes

So Steve Smith wants to come to England early next summer and play three County Championship games to warm up for the Ashes. Or maybe four if he feels the need for a little extra practice before the biggest test series of all.

That’s kind of you. Let’s roll out the welcome mat, just as we always seem to have done for the opposition before big series so they can get used to those uniquely English conditions of the Dukes ball on the move on sports fields.

As we did with up-and-coming batsman Marnus Labuschagne when he warmed up for what became his starring role, initially as a concussed substitute for Smith, in Ashes 2019 with a stint at Glamorgan. And how we did for Cameron Bancroft when he lined up for Durham before appearing in the first Test of that series.

Steve Smith wants to play three County Championship games to warm up for the Ashes

Smith (pictured celebrating) wants to practice some more with the red ball before Ashes

Or, for once, maybe not. Perhaps English cricket should think to itself and not lend a helping hand to Australia’s best batsman before facing a resurgent England side. Every county should say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ to Smith.

And not just Smith. Labuschagne will return to Wales next summer warming up for the Ashes. Usman Khawaja and Travis Head are said to like county cricket too, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they found willing suitors.

It’s a trend that puzzled Trevor Bayliss when he was England manager. He could not believe that England would offer the hand of friendship to the old enemy against his own interests.

“Dude, you won’t find Sheffield Shield teams rushing to sign players from England ahead of an Ashes series in Australia, that’s for sure,” he told Sportsmail last year.

Marnus Labuschagne had a stint in Glamorgan before his starring role in Ashes 2019

England captain Ben Stokes was questioned about the possible arrival of Australian Steve Smith

Ben Stokes, it seems, agrees. The England captain was asked in Multan on Thursday about Smith’s possible arrival and chose his words carefully.

“It’s good for the county game to see players of Steve’s caliber wanting to come and play,” Stokes said.

But I do not know. It’s one of those where you’d probably rather they didn’t get playing time in England than Ashes. It is what it is.’

Australian batsmen Usman Khawaja and Travis Head also want a spell on English terms before the Ashes next year.

Those in the room with Stokes got the impression that he was much more convinced on the matter, but he did not want to change things while he had another Test to try to win in Pakistan over the next five days.

The counter-argument, of course, is that domestic cricket is not just about England. It’s also about building strong county teams to try and win trophies and entertain members and supporters.

It is also fair to say that young English bowlers could benefit from bowling with a player of Smith’s caliber and the level of competition in the Championship could rise.

The only silver lining in this, as far as I’m concerned, is that at least players like Smith prefer to get serious about red ball and Test cricket rather than just chasing millions in the Indian Premier League and then submitting to the Ashes. .

But Paul Farbrace made an interesting comment on the talkSPORT Following On podcast this week about his appointment as Sussex head coach. Farbrace said not every county puts England first and we need to be fully aligned if we are to make the most of England’s impressive progress in the Tests.

That’s why, in a small way, each county could help England’s cause of winning the Ashes next year. They could just say a polite no to Smith and look outside Australia for their overseas players next summer.

Then at least we would know that we are all on the same side.