That’s the biggest issue with the players travelling to Australia, they mould themselves according to the air that people of Australia breathe, they adapt themselves to the attitude with which Australian players play, they try to learn new art of sledging without even thinking that Aussies are Aussies, even when in cold storage, they will murmur some or the other thing which will keep the opposition boiling thereafter. Sometimes, Aussies even talk smart which left others thinking whether he have made the right choice but lighting the debate or not.
The latest example is of Dale Steyn, who just three days prior to the start of much-anticipated Test series, delivered a punch by throwing war of words as Australian captain by quoting “If you can cut off the head of the snake, the rest of the body tends to fall,”.
“We’ve done that in the past. We’ve tried to attack the captain because he is the leader and if we can cause a bit of chaos there, sometimes it does affect the rest of the guys.”
Though the words have a simple meaning but the way in which they are decorated can irk anyone.
David Warner, a bully turned a happy and responsible father has replied to Steyn’s words, rather we should say has deferred his claims as he said “There are 11 players in the team. If Dale wants to start playing that game, I’ll let him do that,” Warner told the media in Perth. “For us, it’s about us going out there and doing our best. If he feels that cutting the head off the snake and then everyone else falls apart, I don’t see that happening at all.
“For us, it’s about us going out there and doing our best. If he feels that cutting the head off the snake and then everyone else falls apart, I don’t see that happening at all” Warner added.
Referring these comments with that of common fast bowlers, Warner turned down Steyn claims saying, “That’s the fast-bowler talk. We are not going to go into that, or entertain those thoughts or scenarios, we are just going to go out there and back ourselves and do what we do best and that plays positive cricket. We know the conditions we are going to face out here.”
Talking about his role in the team and that of captain Steve Smith, Warner said “For me, it’s about making his (Smith’s) job easier, doing the little things around the group to make sure his job is just solely based out on the field being tactical, bowling changes and away from the field just making sure the troops are upbeat and ready to go. If anyone needs anything, I ask the guys come to me and let ‘Smudge’ (Smith) just think about what he has to do for the Test match coming up.
“You guys know Steven, he’s a very simple, down to earth guy, he’s very cruisy so he actually likes being a bit more hands-on, likes getting feedback from the guys which is great,” he added. “I just try and make his life a little bit easier if I can,” he concluded.
Warner support has come to Smith at the time when he needs it the most as recently under Smith’s captaincy, the Australian team was whitewashed by Sri Lanka in Test series in the month of July/August. A whitewash in the ODI series against South Africa followed, surprisingly, when Smith decided to take some time off during Sri Lanka voyage, David Warner led Australian team to a series victory over Sri Lanka in ODIs and T20Is as well.
That puts extra pressure on Steve Smith as he has an additional task to raise the team as well as to contribute with the bat. If he fails in any of his duties, selectors will have no second thought but to hand over the captaincy to David Warner, who now, is an extremely responsible player.
The first Test of the series of what seems to be a blistering one starts on November 3 will be played at Perth. Hobart will host the second Test of the series whereas Adelaide will host the third and final test match which will be a day/night affair to be played with the pink ball.