He started off well down the order playing as a spinner and part time bat. He got dropped after a while, then when he came back into the side he became a run machine and hasn't bowled since.
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He started off well down the order playing as a spinner and part time bat. He got dropped after a while, then when he came back into the side he became a run machine and hasn't bowled since.
He's a cheat. Should never have played again.
Very good though
But the Poms love to ball temper, what with their mints and use of their zippers.
Meanwhile that fake tough guy Stokes, who happens to be an absolute gun, should have been banned for coward punching someone. What a a pissweak thing to do.
Don't @ me
He's a cheat. Should never have played again.
Very good though
Smith didn’t cheat. He got banned because he was captain and did nothing about it. If you ban him for life, they would have banned the whole team.
Damn, people actually booed when Smith got the hundred.
Pathetic.
Did/do any of Atherton, Pfaff du Plessis (caught red handed himself, twice, and then still had the audacity to make comments about Smith), Vernon Philander, Dravid, etc. get booed after being caught actually doing it?
At the end of the day Smith was a cheat, either that or he’s absolutely fecking dumb as two planks. So pick one.
If he is considered a cheat, then he’s the most high profile since Cronje is understandable why he has been booed all summer by all fans. I’m not a fan of booing him, but I’m not looking down on that since the treatment of Broad in Australia for doing exactly what Khawaja did today.
If he is considered a cheat, then he’s the most high profile since Cronje is understandable why he has been booed all summer by all fans. I’m not a fan of booing him, but I’m not looking down on that since the treatment of Broad in Australia for doing exactly what Khawaja did today.
Smith has served his punishment so let’s move on. It’s not as if booing or jeering him makes an impact on him, if anything it motivated him even more.
We’ve seen the same at our club with the likes of Cantona and Beckham who both went up a level after fan abuse.
We’ve seen the same at our club with the likes of Cantona and Beckham who both went up a level after fan abuse.
Australia no 10 & 11 managed to face 80 balls! During that time, Smith faced many many more and together they added an extra 155 runs.
I think they could well be the deciding factor at end of this game.
I think they could well be the deciding factor at end of this game.
Pathetic? Really?
It’s part of the tribal nature of sport.
He’s the pantomime villain here.
United fans wouldn’t applaud Gerrard after a good performance at OT.
It’s what makes the Ashes brilliant and clearly Smith thrives off it.
United fans booed Ashley Young, let alone opposition players. They aren’t whiter than white. Booing is a part of sport, Smith to his credit handles it superbly.
Amir, Asif, Butt?
More people probably know who Smith is.
Booing the tonne? Yeah, that's pathetic.
How does Smith currently rank among the greats? Average of 61 over 64 tests and 23 centuries is no joke & he's also got some crunch innings on his resume.
Smith himself didn't do anything.
Ironically the player that's spoken about the least, Bancroft, did the actual cheating after Warner told him to.
Different strokes for different folks I guess.
Missing a year of his peak will hurt him, especially when he was in such fine form.
But honestly if he keeps this up (and Kholi too) he's got to be in there with greats like Ponting, Lara, Tendulkar, Kallis and Sangakarra... If not higher.
Unless my memory failed me - I can't remember another time when a player was booed after they made a century. Regardless of the teams you begrudgingly applaud their efforts.
2018 was actually his worst year, so I think in terms of average and reputation missing the whole of it probably did him good. He averaged 32 across 4 tests that year - a bit of an anomaly for him (maybe he was getting a bit tired or his needed a bit of sharpening).
Probably gave him a chance to go back & work on his game, and come back even stronger.
Strange how people are behaving as if booing is a big deal . How is it any worse than Aussie fans giving the cricketers all sorts of shit in Australia. Omg sports fans are biased and don't see the offences of their own team like that doesn't happen everywhere
So you’re in the “Smith was a dumb Cnut” camp. No worries.
Bangladesh U19 beat England U19 by 72 runs to guarantee qualification for final
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...i-nation-under-19s-tournament-in-england-2019
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...i-nation-under-19s-tournament-in-england-2019
Booing when someone tonnes-up is pathetic.
The rest is a little sad but I can deal with it.
Out of interest, what would an Australian crowd have done to any of those you mention?
I distinctly remember the entire country booing Stuart Broad and he didn't even break the laws of the game.
Completely.
The Aussies bullied the rest of the cricket world for years. They kept talking about this imaginary 'line' which they and only they were allowed to police. They were allowed to do whatever they wanted on a cricket field and take offence at anything anyone else did.
I do feel sorry for Smith, but he was captain throughout that period and should have stopped that culture developing. If he was English and playing in Australia the reaction would be much, much worse.
We did nothing because those incidents were given standard slap on the wrists from the ICC and over in a few days.
Cricket Australia actively punished its players as if they did not Smith Warner and Bancroft would have gotten a standard 1 match ban.
That being said the year off is probably a good thing for Smith as he looks better then ever and not to mention not having to worry about the captaincy (which even pre incident he was not a great captain).
Cricket Australia actively punished its players as if they did not Smith Warner and Bancroft would have gotten a standard 1 match ban.
That being said the year off is probably a good thing for Smith as he looks better then ever and not to mention not having to worry about the captaincy (which even pre incident he was not a great captain).
I had nothing wrong with the booing just booing when you get a 100 or 5 wickets is just stupid.
The crowd in Adelaide did it a few years ago vs South Africa and its a poor look. The boos looked like it affected Warner and Bancroft but Smith was far beyond in his own world to notice imo.
The crowd in Adelaide did it a few years ago vs South Africa and its a poor look. The boos looked like it affected Warner and Bancroft but Smith was far beyond in his own world to notice imo.
A lot of it is just comedy booing. I doubt he will get much after this test it will be just people doing it for the sake of it without malice.
He's a cheat. Should never have played again.
Very good though
Utter BS. His punishment was already too harsh.
I would hope that they wouldn't boo for any milestones.
I don't remember Pfaff getting booed after being caught, twice. Nor Dravid, nor Atherton, nor Panesar, etc. I may be wrong though.
The best batsman of this era, no doubt about it.
Exactly. And it wasn't even the ICC that handed it down, it was our own Cricket Council. Pfaff would have missed two years had SA's council acted the same way.
On the positive side at least they took a hard stand and hopefully this sets a precedent.
Yeah I understand. I just feel that booing when a player reaches a milestone is, well, just not cricket.
Probably because sandpaper was deemed a heck of a lot worse than sweets or lozenges. Not sure why..
Yeah I agree with that. I don't know if I am right but I didn't hold him as accountable as Warner anyway.
From what I have heard Warner should have fallen on his sword, he instigated the whole thing and pressured young Bancroft into doing it.
And what about zips on pants? Or stepping on the ball with spikes? Or roughing it up on the pitch? All of which were done by English, SA and others in the past.
No the Aussies just boo when batsman don't walk don't they. And the players sledge relentlessly throughout the game, shouting foul-mouthed abuse and talking about ending people's careers.
I probably wouldn't boo Steve Smith either but it's a bit rich for an Aussie to talk about standards of behaviour at a cricket ground.
What punishment would you have given them then?
It's not a grey area.
Saliva's considered fine. Eating sweets is considered fine. Intentionally applying sugary saliva to gain an advantage isn't.
Removing dirt is considered fine but deliberately scratching the ball or picking the seem is not.
But no part of taking sandpaper on to the pitch with you is ever gonna be fine and we all saw it happen.
I think Smith's ban was about right, given it was about more than just the ball tampering. Was a whole national outcry about the general behaviour of the Aussie team and the captain had to take the blame. Should've just canned Warner for good and made it clear they felt Bancroft was placed in an unfair situation, though.