Stokes calls Smith and Root 'greatest of their generation'

Perth: England captain Ben Stokes called Steve Smith and Joe Root the greatest batsmen of their generation on Thursday and said keeping the Australian skipper quiet was crucial to winning the Ashes.

Ahead of Friday's first Test in Perth, Australia's Smith and England's Root share 24,020 Test runs between them and 75 centuries.

But while Root is yet to score a ton on Australian soil and averages just 35.68, Smith has been potent at home. He averages an ominous 59.70 against England, including 18 hundreds.

"Not too much has changed because he (Smith) just gets runs against us, doesn't he?" Stoke said when asked if he had noticed any weakness to exploit.

"That seems to be a constant -- a serious player, has been for a very long time. 

"Him and Joe Root, neck-and-neck in my opinion in terms of the greatest batters of this generation. 

"You always want to come up with ways to try and keep the best players quiet. And that's something that obviously we're going to have to do. It'll be a hard thing to be able to do," he added.

"But if we can keep Steve Smith, minus all the other guys in the batting order, quiet, then we've given ourselves a good chance to achieve in the goal that we want."

Smith will lead Australia for the third time this year in Pat Cummins' absence when the Ashes get under way.

The 36-year-old's full-time reign as skipper came to an end over the South Africa ball-tampering controversy in 2018, but he has consistently filled in since.

Sure to send a scare through the England camp, his average is an incredible 68.98 in his 40 Tests as Australia captain.

Smith scored a century for New South Wales last month after not picking up a bat for six weeks, and said he was in a good place.

"I'm pretty chilled," he said. "I think I've learned a lot over my journey.

"The last couple of times that I've stood in for Patty (Cummins) I've tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play. 

"Obviously I've got to do it my own way out there and have my own style. But I'm a lot more relaxed these days, chilled, and you know, let the guys go about their work."