Steven Smith’s feats with the bat and successes as captain saw him make many fans, but all that was turned upside down once he admitted his part in the ball-tampering saga that plagued the third Test against South Africa.
Even the Prime Minister said Smith and the leadership group had let down the country, and the trio of Warner, Smith and Cameron Bancroft were suspended.
Smith now has to live his life having had the Aussie captaincy taken away from him when he was at the peak of his career, and looking to defend the Ashes in the 2019 series in the UK – a victory which would have placed him among the game’s elite skippers for years to come.
Instead, Smith has had to cope with the disappointment of fans, being lambasted by the media and former players, and most importantly, feeling he let down his family, fiance and coaches.
It’s known he reads the news and debates about cricket whenever possible, which means all this has taken a toll.
And when he next turns out in Australian colours, Smith will notice the same fans, opposite players and even teammates not having the same respect for him.
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His comeback will be in the name of correcting all he’s done wrong, meaning his every action will be carefully observed, and a slight deviation from proper moral conduct will see him again in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Smith’s relentless drive, passion, and win-at-all-costs mentality made him the No.1 Test batsman in the world, but also saw him go to unethical lengths to salvage a Test match.
The 29-year-old will in all likelihood tone this attitude down, which means his batting will likely suffer as a result.
Cricket is more about the mental side than technique. The psychological exhaustion Smith has endured will take the sheen of the batsman we knew before – and we’ve already seen him looking a shadow of himself in the Canadaian T20 matches.
Steve Smith will be back, but sadly he won’t be the best batsman of his era again.
Rats
Guest
I am an Indian fan and a Kohli fan. But sorry.. thumps down to the article. S Smith is the greatest test player in this era. Kohli and Root are far second. And he is going to come back strong.. for the simple reason being, he has never been a technically perfect batsman. His success has been due to his determination and hunger for runs. His determination to statyin the crease for long hours and score runs despite batting in such a way where he may look like he can get out any ball - this is his biggest strength. The way he conquered dusty pitches in India. Compare that to Kohli's struggle in England against Anderson in swinging conditions.. Anderson kept feeding him outside off. Kohli found ways to get out knicking the ball to slip. Almost same way every match in a long 5 match series. That is amazing.. This is where Smith is different. Technically not as good as Kohli or Root, but will power, focus and determination - Smith is the the best. And he will score runs for Australia again when it matters. Forget about all this T20 series.. He is a proud Australian Test player. he knows where to score runs and what his focus should be. Unlike some other players in his era, who equates scoring a test hundred in tough conditions to a non-sense t20 hundred.
Jimbo
Guest
My hunch is this article was written while looking into a smoggy crystal ball ... just the facts, please
JohnB
Guest
Certainly the underarm incident, which was legal, spur of the moment and resulted in no bans at all barely ever got mentioned after it happened and hasn't continue to hang over the bloke responsible (and over the poor bloke ordered to do it) 35 odd years later.
JayG
Guest
Let me get this straight - you were sure in 2015 when Smith was appointed captain that he was not the best man for the job and you are sure now even before Finch has been appointed captain that he will be great one. Do I have this right? Maybe you have a calling as psychic. For me, I will judge Finch's captaincy after he has been captain for a while. Maybe you are right and he will be a great one but I do not have the psychic powers to predict so before he is even appointed captain. Also, I went back and read your article. It is hardly about what awaits the Australian team after Smith. The main contention of your article seems to be that Smith, the batsman (not Smith the captain, mind you) will be a shadow of himself when he comes back and you have listed several reasons why you believe so. So, in that context, I ask again how the "systemic changes" and the potential greatness of the Australian team under Finch is relevant to the content of your article - namely how Smith will be an ordinary batsman when he returns because of the events in SA. Re the Canadian GT20, I do not know which innings you are referring to. He scored 2 half centuries. One of those was in the first match where looked a little rusty and the other in a match where the entire batting top order collapsed around him and he was the top-scorer (sound familiar?). His scores in the series were: 61, 10, 3, 55, 3, 35 (average of 33.4). One of those single-digit scores came in a match where Fidel Edwards was seriously unplayable on a pitch with variable bounce. While not outstanding, the scores are hardly pathetic and as a plus, he seemed in good flow while he was at the crease. As a comparison, Chris Gayle scored 17, 0, 4, 63, 50, 2 (average of 22.6) . Keiron Pollard scored 4, 28, 25, 8, 37, 8 (average of 18.3) and Darren Sammy scored 22, 19, 0, 23, 2, 29 (average of 23.75). Should we write them all off too or are we reserving our judgmental condescension only for Smith?
Saurebh Gandle
Roar Guru
You don't use the words 'legend', 'icon' or 'great' loosely. In case ,if you read properly between the lines I didn't write he won't score a run or get hundred.He might score a hundred and people will say a great comeback. But if you talk about word great ,its sustained performance like Smith did before suspension and continuing same from where he left for another 5-10 years. The gulf between the batsman in Australian team &Smith,warner is too high to explain. But take for example India,Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay.one is good other is great.Sadly ,I don't see Smith being great and reason I mentioned in the article.
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
I think when (not if) Steve Smith returns to the national team, you'll see a man who keeps to himself both on and off the field. But I also believe the best way to repay the fans, his teammates and the game, is to go out and contribute with the bat. Without the bourdon of the captaincy or even being part of the leadership group, his prime focus will be his batting and I think, still be a young man, that his batting could get better. Scoring runs will help rewrite his legacy.
Saurebh Gandle
Roar Guru
It's related to what awaits the Australian team after Smith suspension. So why isn't that far off if that's what you mean. Did data of Australian cricket team in last three years give any reason why Australian team cheated or why they were so poor in ODIs not really? You need to be watching and analyzing things to get that perspective. Data suggested Smith was perhaps the best man to take up the leadership role after Clarke but was he really? Not so, I was sure back in 2015 and it's clear to the world now. So, is data the real indicator of things? We can come back and discuss on this in a year's time. Btw, how he looked in Global Canadian T-20 tournament apart from one inning? Of course, you will say it doesn't matter or so.
JayG
Guest
This comment is even more inexplicable. Sure, Australia might become a dominant team under Finch. At present, though, there really is no data to make that determination yet you make it sound like a done deal. Also, as far as I can see this has no relation to the content of your article which is basically a writing off of Smith..
Saurebh Gandle
Roar Guru
Whenever such systemic changes happen, they do so because the stars would be on the rise for someone else. The man here in question is Aaron Finch. He would be the chosen one to captain Australia in the shorter formats. He has it in him to lead Australia to glory days once again. The event could actually be a silver lining to Australian cricket. Suddenly Australia become very strong contenders for the 2019 World Cup. They were out of the race till Steve Smith was the captain and Darren Lehmann the coach. With a new captain and a new coach in place, we are going to have a better Australia turning up for the marque event and that is not good news for other teams.
Ashan D
Roar Pro
Another Indian fan boy dreaming on.. Get this fact will ya... Kohli will never be like Smith. So shut up shop and look elsewhere please.
Chitrang Varma
Guest
I m Indian & hardcore Indian fan, but by far this is the worst article I've read..how can u be so sure abt someone deterioration, Jst a normal league for him & u r writing him off...dude don't get me wrong but u sound like a hater of him more than a neutral sports journalist, It seems u want him to be shadow of himself. No offence but currently he's the world best batsman of this era, Honestly speaking being Indian "No Kohli, Root, or Williamson can replace him.. He'll back like a Champ..this things make human more strong then weak, He's legend he'll be back like never before!!
JayG
Guest
These scandals are 7 day wonders. Public has a very short memory. Once he is back and making runs (which, contrary to this article I fully expect him to), this episode will soon be a footnote in history.
Savage
Roar Rookie
Steve smith ban for 1 year has slightly weakened his chances of becoming best Test batsman of this era. But ATM Steve smith is still a league above any other batsmen in Test cricket.Closest to Steve Smith is probably Kohli.If Kohli wants to enter that league then he needs to have a great series in England like he did in SA recently(Highest run scorer in SA series). If Kohli follows that great England series with another great series in Australia then he would surpass Smith and will become best Test batsmen in the world. It will interesting to see who will end up as best Test batsmen of this era.IMO only Root and Kohli can challenge Steve Smith throne.Kane is unlucky because he plays for NZ(not big 3) and NZ are not that much interested in Test cricket.So I don't think Williamson will get as much opportunity that Root,Kohli and Smith will get against top sides. Root has massively underachieved in Test format.Inspite of that he is still one of the best Test batsmen right now.England plays lots of Test cricket and Root is 2 years younger than Kohli and Smith.However English batsmen generally don't have a long career.Cook is only England player to get 10,000 runs.Apart from Cook,no other English batsmen has scored 9000 runs in Test format.
Sean Moran
Guest
What a load of rubbish. Smith was a scapegoat and has been unfairly treated. The Aussie fans still love him - more than ever. It’s CA and the media who we’ve turned against. Smith will be back better than ever. History will judge him as Australia’s second best ever batter (of all time not just of this era) our greatest ever skipper, one of our top 5 fieldsman and an extremely good allrounder. All of this despite his ridiculous treatment from CA and the media.
Blake Standfield
Roar Guru
I wonder if Dinesh Chandimal will suffer from the same supposed lack of respect and mental fragility after his one match ban that everyone has already forgotten about. If they even heard about it.
JayG
Guest
Actually his IPL record isn't bad - average of 37 @ strike rate of ~131. Virat Kohli has an average of 38 @ strike rate of ~131. David Warner who has a near demi-God status among SRH supporters has an average of 40.5 at a strike rate of 142.
Philip O'Donovan
Guest
No one has ever criticised Smith for making runs.However,all the runs in the world will not eradicate the appalling behaviour that occurred under his captaincy and the embarrassment of the subsequent press conference.
Paul
Roar Guru
You are so far off the mark abut Smith. You have made a baseless assumption that his batting will suffer as a result of the SA incident and the subsequent fallout. If anything, batting should be far easier for him because he can go into his shell and focus on one thing - making runs. He will answer all of his critics by simply getting on with it and stockpiling big scores. This is comfort zone for him, so why wouldn't he pursue this with the same determination he showed before SA. I have no idea what you do for a day job, but this analysis suggests psychology is not really your gig.
JohnB
Guest
Being banned as Australian captain might well be a burden he is not able to overcome - on the hand, the more runs he makes, the more forgiving people will be.
JayG
Guest
What share of the blame he gets to bear for the cheating will depend on what he knew and when. CA's charges make it appear that he knew about 'a' plan for tampering with the ball but not about the sandpaper. If he thought they were indulging in "borderline legal" tampering he doesn't get the blame as much as if he knew the details of the plan and did nothing. Unfortunately, CA has not been completely transparent in its report as to what actually went down. My sense has always been that the majority of his suspension is for the hatchet job of a cover-up and the botched after-match press conference where he implicated a "leadership team" and not the actual cheating