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Opinion
Cricket is sometimes referred to as an individual sport played by teams and Steve Smith shouldn’t need to be reminded that there are 10 other members of the Australian side.
Smith blew up deluxe in the second Test at Delhi when he was out in the second innings for nine as the Aussies went from a position of strength to losing 9-48 on the way to an embarrassing defeat, their second three-day trouncing as they surrendered any chance of reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The vice-captain, as he pretty much always does, reviewed the decision after being given out and after replays showed an umpire’s call verdict on whether the ball would have hit leg stump, he was on his way.
He was out sweeping, an uncharacteristic shot for the world’s second-ranked Test batter, and was disgusted at himself for getting out to Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
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Smith immediately threw his head back when the final verdict flashed up on the big screen and shook his head as he stormed off before unleashing his anger in the dressing room.
Steve Smith in a rage as he walks off in Delhi. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
It was just the second wicket of the day and he was not to know that another seven dismissals would fall within the space of the next hour but the time he spent raging against the red mist would have been much better spent helping the batters to come.
As the senior batter in the team, he should have been passing on advice to the lower order about the tactics to combat the Indian spinners on the Delhi wicket. Sweeping, for instance.
It was too late for Matt Renshaw, who had replaced him following his dismissal and frankly, no amount of tactical talk was going to save him as he struggled for the third straight innings in the middle order against India’s spinners.
“He was certainly disappointed when he got out and he made it known that it was a poor shot in the dressing room,” Australia’s batting coach, Michael Di Venuto said last week.
“I think most people would have heard that, they should have had a fair idea of what not to do.
“The blow-ups, the guys are a lot better these days, I think the majority, you still get a few no doubt. It’s frustration. No one wants to get out and people want to perform.”
Clearly, Smith values his wicket immensely and is filthy with himself when he gets out. His insatiable desire to score runs is what has made him arguably Australia’s finest run-scorer since Sir Donald Bradman.
But he also has to be a leader.
With Pat Cummins sadly having to go home after his mother was placed in palliative care, Smith will fill in as captain when Australia try to turn around a 2-0 deficit in the optimistic hope of drawing the series when the third Test gets underway on Wednesday at Indore.
Smith had a similar show of petulance on the tour to Sri Lanka last year when he was run out for six in Galle after a mix-up with Usman Khawaja.
After his despairing dive was not enough to make his ground, he sprung to his feet covered in dirt to stare daggers at his batting partner at the safe end of the pitch.
Steve Smith reacts after being run out. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
Shaking his head furiously and waving his arms around like a spoiled brat, the histrionics were a poor look.
Unluckily for Smith, the cameras for The Test documentary were awaiting when he stormed back into the sheds screaming “f—ing run, you —-”, “f—ing getting run out on a f—ing wicket like that, that’s good” and “f— me”.
Every cricketer at any level has reacted badly after getting out – whether it was their fault or not – and Smith blowing a gasket in Delhi is hardly the crime of the century.
But right now, probably more than ever, Australia need him to be a leader, setting an example for a team that is without its captain, has been criticised from pillar to post after back-to-back three-day thrashings and has had players shuffled in and out of the team and the touring squad in the space of just a few weeks.
Former Australia quick Mitchell Johnson had floated the idea of Travis Head leading the team in Cummins’ absence as he is seen as a potential successor down the track.
Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates taking the wicket of Steve Smith. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Mitchell Starc, who is making his return in the third Test after two months out with a broken finger, said Smith was the right man for the job.
“I think it’s pretty seamless,” Starc told reporters at the Holkar Stadium on Monday when asked about the change from Cummins to Smith as skipper. “He’s obviously done it for a long time. I’ve played a lot of cricket with Steve as captain as well so it’s been a pretty easy transition, not much changes.
“He’s obviously going to have certain ways that he likes to captain as well or different ideas, which is no different to when he’s vice-captain to Pat.
“It’s going to be slightly different but I think we’ve seen over the last 12-18 months when he stepped in, he’s done a fantastic job again. The couple of Tests he had to do in Adelaide were really successful for the group so hopefully it’s another great week for our team to bounce back from the last two.”