Don't keep your eye on the prize - Anderson has a plan to oust Smith

James Anderson is planning to keep his eyes off the prize when the England seamer tries to get the better of Australia captain Steve Smith in Adelaide.

Smith led by example in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, with a superb unbeaten 141 to help his side to an eventual 10-wicket battering.

The skipper faced 261 balls to reach triple figures, the most he has had to swat away to register a century, but nothing England tried could displace the Aussies' talisman.

The day-night Test in Adelaide, which starts on Saturday, is expected to provide assistance to England's preference for swing, and Anderson believes the best way to dismiss Smith is not to maintain eye contact.

"I just think you've almost got to take him out of the picture when you're bowling because if your eyeline is watching him and what he's doing then I think it really distracts you from where you want the ball to go," Anderson told a news conference.

"You've got to really try and almost blank him out and really focus on where you want the ball to go.

"Obviously, the plans to him, I wouldn't say they didn't work, but we didn't get him out, so they worked to an extent.

"We dried his runs up and made him work really hard for his hundred but obviously we want to get him out.

"He was the difference between the two teams. That first-innings lead would've been huge for us.

"So, getting him out here will be crucial. Hopefully more pace in the wicket might help us, but we've just got to be as relentless as we possibly can to someone like that."

On the opposite side, seamer Chadd Sayers recognises his chances of selection remain slim due to the performances of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

But the Adelaide native, who took 62 wickets in Sheffield Shield cricket in the 2016-17 season, is ready to grasp his "dream" if the opportunity arises.

"It does get a bit frustrating, you keep putting performances on the board and haven't played a Test match," he said.

"I am excited to be involved in my first Ashes series but mixing cordial isn't what I want to do.

"It is a lifelong dream and do it in Adelaide would be all the more special."