Why Warner, Smith shouldn’t be sledged
When India takes on Australia at the Oval on June 9, the focus will once again shift to David Warner and Steve Smith. Here is why booing them can be counterproductive.
Published : Jun 09, 2019 10:19 IST
The ball-tampering incident in Cape Town is more than a year old. David Warner and Steve Smith have served their sanctions and returned to cricket fresh. But for the English spectators, the incident remains a sledge-trigger in the World Cup. Unfortunate as they are the host nation. Smith, not as unpopular as Warner for chatting up to players, often ducks the mild taunts. He has never been a fan of personal sledging. Warner tries hard to keep his ears shut. The only noise the duo have been making, of late, is by scoring runs to shun the scoffing; a Kiwi-like approach.
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It is not a downer. Among the 50-odd people who chanted ‘cheater’ against Warner in Bristol in Australia’s Cup opener, there were a few kids who came asking for an autograph. Deaf to the cuss words, Warner let the bat speak. He was unbeaten on 89 in the victory over Afghanistan. The world isn’t used to this Warner.
READ| Watson: Australia will be lucky to have Warner in World Cup Smith’s century against England in the warm-up match in Hampshire had the same resolve. The greatness gained flesh as he added 102 runs with No.8 batsman Nathan Coulter-Nile to rescue Australia from hell against West Indies in Nottingham in the main fixture. This time, he scored 73, and the partnership was the turning point of the rubber.
READ| The fitness chart for Bumrah, Bhuvi, Shami When Rajasthan Royals struggled in the IPL, Smith replaced Ajinkya Rahane as captain for results. Under him, the franchise won three out of four games. Warner led Sunrisers Hyderabad to its maiden title against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 edition. To end on a better note, former England spin bowler Monty Panesar claimed in his autobiography ‘The Full Monty’ how the English cricketers have used mint to alter the condition of the ball in the past. That should end the debate.
Support from the cricketing world “Warner is a world-class player. It is sad that someone like him didn’t play 12 months of international cricket but he is back and he has shown his class,” said former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson. “It is a massive impact to have a player like Warner come and perform consistently. Warner’s return was a big boost to the side; he was in an unbelievable form [with eight fifties and a hundred],” said Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, Warner’s team-mate in Sunrisers.“Well, when you’ve got world-class players coming back into your side, it’s unfortunate for the guys who have missed out and the guys that have played some really good one-day cricket in the past. Steve is the best batter in the world in my opinion over all three forms of the game,” and that’s the word from Australia ODI captain Aaron Finch. |