Sledging Not My Cup Of Tea: Steve Smith
Nov 2, 2016 at 6:03 PM
Amidst the plethora of tautness, apprehension, pressure, war of words and sledging, the Australian captain Steve Smith made a public appearance a day before the start of first pivotal Test at Perth. Addressing the media before the first Test, after being whitewashed by Sri Lanka and South Africa in two different formats, a tranquil and serene Steve Smith surprisingly, on asked upon sledging, came up with a response opposing to the attitude of what Australians possess as he said, “For me, that’s not my cup of tea (sledging) it’s just about making sure my body language is right and looking like I’m on top of them, I guess that’s what I’m after from the team, and it’s not necessarily about,
“I guess that’s what I’m after from the team, and it’s not necessarily about sledging or anything like that. It’s about making sure that each individual can get the best out of themselves and have a presence about them,
“Everyone does it differently, for someone, it might be about getting into a verbal contest with a bowler to get themselves going, it’s about each individual knowing what gets them going, and when they do that it’s going to be best for the team as well” added Smith.
He also responded to the tough comments made by Dale Steyn. Instead of looking to hit back at Steyn, Smith decided to play it safely counting out the deepness in Australian batting lineup “We’ve got a lot of batters in our lineup that are capable of scoring big runs,” he said. “They (South Africa) can think that way if they like. Hopefully, they get rid of me and just start to think the rest is going to happen,” Smith concluded.
“They (South Africa) can think that way if they like. Hopefully, they get rid of me and just start to think the rest is going to happen,” Smith concluded.
This series is more of a survival series for Steve Smith as, if, by chance, results do not go in favour of Australia, then Smith would be the one who might be a scapegoat then, even if he performs with the bat.
The first Test of the much-anticipated series starts tomorrow from Perth with the second contest taking place at Hobart. The third and final Test match will be a day/night affair that will be played with a pink ball at Adelaide.
Australia has already announced their playing XI for the first Test, Joe Mennie has been benched for the game with rest of the players participating in the first Test.