100 Tests & Counting | After Cape Town 2018 Debacle, Steve Smith Earns His Ultimate Prize in Headingley 2023
Steve Smith has been an absolute champion for Australia [Source: Twitter]
As they say, To err is human; every person is vulnerable to mistakes. If we talk about cricketers, they are no exception, as sometimes they go overboard with their methods, implementing foul on-field tactics for the greater cause of winning. Besides reflecting their sheer competitiveness, such acts tarnish their global image for bringing the game into disrepute.
However, the only good thing about mistakes is despite being unavoidable; they can be rectified, and it takes a little realisation and commitment to do so. Life gives a second chance to everyone, irrespective of the degree of his mischief.
That second opportunity arrived in the form of Australia's much-anticipated England tour in 2019 for Steve Smith, who had just served a one-year ban from international cricket following his involvement in the infamous ball-tampering incident in the Cape Town Test.
Cape Town sandpaper incident and its impact on Steve Smith
Steve Smith confessing his cricketing sin [Source: Twitter]
On an ill-fated day at the iconic Newlands in Cape Town, Australian opener Cameron Bancroft was caught red-handed while tampering the ball with a sandpaper. In an even more shocking turn of events, an investigation on the matter concluded the involvement of the then-Australian skipper Steve Smith in the scandalous act.
Although Smith accepted his mistake, describing how the drive of anyhow winning the game got the better of him in the post-day press conference, he was immediately sacked from captaincy, with keeper-batter Tim Paine taking over the reins.
Besides preventing him from playing international cricket for a year, the sandpaper incident jolted Smith with a nasty blow, adversely affecting his stature and self-confidence.
Although his stats still spoke volumes for his incredible achievements, Smith was no longer the player he used to be. His image had hit rock-bottom, as he, a genius craftsman with the bat, was eventually greeted as a cheater by a full-house Edgbaston crowd in the first Ashes Test. To make matters worse, Australia were down on the mat, placed at 122 for eight, with Smith stranded on 42 at one end.
But what's the fun in thriving under a challenge that is not so challenging?
That was the ideal moment for Smith to overcome his mental battles and put up a performance for the ages. Australia definitely needed him to step up, but he required it more to rediscover himself.
The Australian maverick didn't succumb to either the rampant English attack or the chirpy Birmingham crowd. Instead, he rose from the ashes, producing an all-timer inning of 144 runs and powering Australia to a fighting 284-run total in their first innings.
Steve Smith had an outstanding Ashes 2019 [Source: Twitter]
That knock was quite a statement from the greatest Test batter of this generation. They call him the next to the Don, and he had just proved it against all odds. That innings truly marked the birth of Steve Smith 2.0, who was unstoppable in the Ashes 2019, aggregating 774 runs at a staggering average of 110.57.
Although he blew hot and cold in a few Tests thereafter, every time people wrote him off, Smith bounced back with a superhuman effort to make them eat their words. Even after more than five years of the Sandpaper saga, the Australian great has kept himself relevant, sitting right at the top of the list of elite Test batters.
Although he couldn't participate in the 2019 Leeds Test owing to a concussion injury, the venue holds special significance for Smith this time, as he will be presented with his 100th Test cap, the ultimate reward every cricketer dreams of.
So, as the Headingley clash marks his 100th game in the purest format, the talisman would be keen to notch up a match-winning knock and celebrate it in grand style. And I bet nobody is more dangerous for a bowling unit than a certain Steve Smith, hungry for runs.
So, be aware, England, he is coming!
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