Smith eyes big score at new Perth Stadium

Australia will be aiming to end their ODI series against England with a win when the two teams lock horns at Perth's new Optus Stadium on Sunday.

Australia captain Steve Smith is looking forward to a well-earned rest, but not before he opens Perth's Optus Stadium with a bang.

A sellout crowd of 55,000 will descend on Perth's state-of-the-art venue for its first official sporting event in Sunday's one-day clash between Australia and England.

Smith is unsure what the drop-in wicket will produce, but says the players are champing at the bit to test it out.

England boast an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, but Australia gained some belated good news from their three-wicket win at Adelaide Oval on Friday with 13 overs to spare.

Smith will be rested from the upcoming T20 tri-series, meaning he will receive a short break before flying to South Africa ahead of the four-Test series there.

The 28-year-old dominated during Australia's 4-0 Ashes rout of England, plundering 687 runs at an average of 137.4.

But that form hasn't translated into the ODI arena, with Smith averaging just 22.5 in the current series against England.

Smith is ready to refresh after a heavy summer workload, but first he wants to end the ODI series in style.

"It has been a long summer," Smith said on Saturday.

"The way I've batted in this one-day series has been disappointing.

"I just haven't felt quite at home where I'd like to be.

"So I'd like to try and end this one-day series with a score and help the boys win the last game of the series."

Smith had a quick look at the drop-in wicket on Saturday, but said he would only be able to judge it after Sunday's game.

"We just don't know what to expect yet. Obviously none of us have played here," Smith said.

"The wicket looks pretty good. It feels quite hard at the moment. And the stadium is magnificent. When it is packed it's going to be an incredible atmosphere.

"It's got a bit of an MCG feel to it a little bit. It would be nice if they could replicate what the WACA does out here (in regards to the pitch)."

Smith said a final XI for Sunday's match hadn't been decided, but confirmed Glenn Maxwell was in the mix to play.

England will be aiming to rebound after making their worst-ever start to an ODI during Friday's loss - when they crashed to 5-8.

The tourists eventually recovered to post 196, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop Australia from cruising to their first win of the series.


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