Australian great Jeff Thomson was blunt when asked about the future of the nation’s Test team in the post Steve Smith era.

Questions as to how long Smith will continue his decorated career are again on the radar after the champion said in an interview in Europe that he was not certain whether he would feature in next year’s Ashes series.

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That would be a significant problem according to Thompson and fellow Aussie icon Doug Walters, who were discussing life after Smith and the problems that his retirement would raise at the SCG just a week ago.

“I think we’d be in trouble if he retired next week. I mean, I can’t think of too many more batters in the side,” Thomson told foxsports.com.au

“What is he? 37? And I mean, he’s the one holding us together. I mean, where our young blokes coming through?

“Smithy’s done a great job over the years, for me. I’ve seen play for a long time and he’s a proper tradesman, you know, not a cowboy batter. That’s how I’d describe it.”

The former Australian captain, who is currently playing in a T20 competition in Europe for the Amsterdam Flames, stressed once again that a primary ambition late in his career is to feature in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

As for Test cricket, where he has burnished a reputation as being the “best since Bradman” in some quarters, the Australian No.4 said that he would reconsider his future at the end of each series in what shapes as a taxing 12 months for the nation.

“I don’t even know if I’ll be there yet,” he told The Telegraph in London about his Ashes plans.

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“I’m kind of a series-by-series proposition, as I’ve been for a while, and that’s still a fair way away for me right now. So, yeah, I’d love to win one there or to have won one there, but you wait and see if that comes to fruition.”

The comments by Smith are timely given Australia is about to embark on a tour of South Africa, with a home series against New Zealand to follow prior to a five Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India prior to the 150th anniversary Test against England at the MCG in mid-March.

That is a lot of cricket for any player, let alone a man closer to 40 than 30 and one who is carrying the nation on his blade, according to Walters, along with Australia’s outstanding attack.

“I think we’ve got concerns with him in the side, so we’re going to have a lot more concerns when he does depart, there’s no doubt about that,” Walters said.

“You won’t find his technique in any batting manual, but if they’re going to rewrite one, they’ll have to put a chapter on his batting there somewhere. He is different, but he is very effective.”

Smith has raised questions about how long he wants to continue for in the past, including when he surpassed Don Bradman’s mark of 30 Test centuries back in 2023 in a Test against South Africa at the SCG.

After saying he was not sure how “long it will last”, which followed an interview with The Daily Telegraph in which he said he was “closer to the end than the start”, he clarified with Fox Cricket that he would continue on.

“I’m always very cryptic with that (retirement) stuff,” he said.

Of more certainty is his desire to chase an Olympic gold medal in the US, where he lives when not playing for Australia or featuring in franchise cricket.

The New York-based champion would need to force his way into the T20 team, which is no certainty, as demonstrated by his late inclusion in the World Cup team in February despite an outstanding campaign in Australia in the BBL.

That team failed to produce anywhere near its best when failing to make it out of the group stage and Australia is experimenting with younger talents in white ball cricket with the ODI World Cup next year preceding the Olympics.

Scrambling. Steve Smith dives to save his wicket during the recent Test series against Bangladesh.Source: AFP

Smith will be 39 when the Olympics are held but he said the reason he was playing so much T20 cricket was to ensure he was sharp for the format.

“Right now probably it’s just the Olympics to try to be a part of that,” Smith told the London-based paper.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to play with Amsterdam here was just to continue playing as much T20 cricket as I can.

“I was keen immediately to come and play in a new market and, hopefully, share some experiences with the local players and associate players: share a dressing room with them and try to impart some of my knowledge on to them. It’s been really good.”

Australia currently sit third in the ICC World T20 rankings behind India and England, with New Zealand sitting a close fourth.

That is important as the qualification spots for the six nation tournament are based on geographical location, with the top-ranked nations from Oceania, Europe, Asia and Africa competing alongside the US as host nation, along with one qualifier.

While the Australian women have already qualified alongside Great Britain, India and South Africa, the men’s cut-off date is December 31 this year and the Aussies are battling with New Zealand for direct qualification.

Australia will play five T20 games against England, which have been in outstanding form, in late November beginning with a match at the MCG on November 21. Games will also be played on the Gold Coast, Brisbane, the SCG and Canberra.

New Zealand will host India for five T20 matches as part of an extended all-format tour in October and November preceding their visit to Australia for four Tests.