Aussie skipper Steve Smith is fighting to save his captaincy and his reputation after he admitted to ball tampering during the 3rd Test against South Africa. This is not the first time the Aussie skipper has been involved in controversial acts.
Here are 5 such incidents where Smith made headlines after taking over the captaincy from Michael Clarke in 2015.
Brain fade
Smith made headlines during Australia’s tour of India a year ago when he blatantly looked at his dressing room to enquire on whether to take a review or not. It was Umesh Yadav who trapped Smith right in front. Onfield umpire Nigel Llong ruled it in favour of the bowling team and it was his partner Peter Handscomb who asked him to look at the dressing room. He termed the incident as a brain fade. However, Indian skipper, Virat Kohli was pretty disappointed and said it was not the first time that the Australians did that during the course of that Test.
Bullying James Anderson
Arguably the greatest English fast bowler James Anderson made a derogatory comment on the Aussies saying that the Aussies were bullies and stepped the line during the Ashes series. Smith gave it back during his conversation with reporter calling Anderson a one of the biggest sledgers in cricket. The Adelaide Test saw Anderson and Smith coming hard at each other and it was on-field umpire Aleem Dar who had to separate the two from an ugly spat.
An ugly spat with on-field umpires
The Aussie skipper was fined 30% of his match fees for showing dissent over a decision review which went against the Aussies. It was the 2nd Test against New Zealand in Christchurch in February 2016.
“I’ll cop that on the chin and I need to be better as a leader. For me it’s about trying to learn from my mistakes and improve,” Smith said.
When Kagiso Rabada’s appeal was questioned
Smith opposed to the fact when ICC allowed Kagiso Rabada to appeal against the ban on South African speedster Kagiso Rabada. He challenged the ban imposed on him and cleared it with flying colours which made him available for the remainder of the series.
“They’ve deemed the contact not to be deliberate and set the line in the sand of what is appropriate and what’s not,” he said, adding it was “pretty interesting” that he had no input at the six-hour hearing. “The other person involved (is) not getting asked about it,” Smith complained.
Ball tampering
This might be the most heinous acts which Smith has committed as an Australian captain Aussie opener Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera trying to apply a yellow sticky tape along with stick of pitch attached to it. It was done in order to change the condition of the match ball so that more reverse swing could come in to play.
When asked by reporters he admitted that the leadership group discussed it during the lunch break. He, however, feels that he is still the right person for leading the side,
“We spoke about it at lunch. I’m not proud of what happened. Obviously, today was a big mistake. I’ve made it clear it is regrettable and we move on from this and hopefully will learn something from this.”
Here’s the Newsfeed:
IPL 2018: Five Players Who Can Replace Steven Smith As Rajasthan Royals’ Captain
