Nervous 9999s: Smith opens up on milestone miss

Steve Smith has attempted to laugh off his milestone near miss but admits he let the 10,000 Test runs mark play "too much" on his mind at the SCG against India.

The stand-in captain will head to Sri Lanka needing a single to join Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh in an exclusive Australian cricket club.

Smith, famously fidgety and a poor sleeper during Tests - particularly while he is batting - reckons he has never cared much for statistics and milestones in a 114-Test career in which he's averaged nearly 56.

But, after falling for four in the second innings at the SCG to leave his home crowd, packed with family, friends and the three cricketing greats above him on that list gutted, he couldn't pretend it didn't hurt.

"One run," he smirked on Friday ahead of a BBL return for Sydney Sixers.

"It hurt a little bit at the time and would've been nice to tick it off in front of all my family and friends here at my home ground.

"I probably let it (my mind) wander too much throughout the game.

"It's a cool milestone to tick off. I've never really been one for milestones but it's a different story with 10,000.

"There's only been a handful of people that had done it. It shows the longevity and consistency in the game.

"It'll be a cool one to tick off ... hopefully first innings in Galle (from January 29)."

The 35-year-old made two centuries in Australia's 3-1 series win, batting with a fluency he argues had been there even when the big scores weren't.

"I've been batting nicely for a while now, even before those hundreds," he said.

"There's a real difference between out of form and out of runs, and I think I was out of runs.

Australia's 16-man squad includes young talents Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney and Cooper Connolly who will join their more seasoned campaigners at a training camp in Dubai.

Smith said he would try to pass on as much knowledge as he could.

"I've played a lot of cricket in the subcontinent, so I know those conditions really well," he said.

"We've got a good little training camp in Dubai where we can control the wickets and what they do.

"Hopefully, we'll get them spinning a lot and guys will be able to develop different plans to come up with to counter their spinners.

"The back end of my career is about helping those young kids and try to help them find a way to be successful in all conditions around the world."