England bowler Stuart Broad has revealed that he thinks Australia's Steven Smith could be a weakness in the Ashes series this summer.

Smith is currently the number one ranked batsman in the world, but he is likely to bat at number three in this series which is much higher than he is usually accustomed too.

Broad told ESPN: "He's obviously had a fantastic 18 months since he's changed his technique a bit. But I think it's an advantage for us with him coming in at number three with the Dukes ball in England.

"I'm certainly not doubting the quality of him as a player. He's a wonderful player and I enjoy watching him play when I'm not bowling at him. I think if he comes in at five like Joe Root does for us there are not many weaknesses there.

"But you have to have a very tight technique to bat in the top three against the Dukes ball in England and it's up to us as an opening attack to get an early wicket and get him in early against the new ball, because he's not had amazing success in England. I've got a few ideas. We'll be looking to try and test his technique with a Dukes ball early."

Smith has scored nine Test hundreds in 28 matches.