SANDPAPER GATE AND RESURGENCE OF STEVE SMITH

Suppose you are the star player of your national cricket team, representing your country and you love the game so much that you shadow practice your batting off the field and only thing you care about in your life is cricket. And then you are told you can’t touch the bat or play the game for one straight year and a ban is imposed on you for a full year and the only thing you have is the criticism of the whole world because of the wrong deed you have done. No this is not a imaginative story. This is about what Sir Ian Chappell called as the greatest comeback in the history of cricket, the comeback of Steve Smith…

March, 2018 Aussies toured South Africa for the test match series. Steve Smith was at peak in his career, captaining his side and having an average of above 60 in tests, only behind the great Don Bradman. But as we say everything don’t last forever, time changes. And then happened the sandpaper gate incident which was referred to as ‘black day’ in Australian Cricket. Bancroft (Aus player) was captured rubbing and scratching the ball using sandpaper. To let you when we rub the either side from seam and thread of the ball and keep the other side shiny then the ball swings reversely because on one side of the seam there is uneven surface while the other side is plain and shiny. So the batsman who knows that you are an out-swinger bowler and suddenly you bowls him an in- swing he will face difficulties in facing that ball. This concept of reverse swing was discovered by the Pakistani bowlers in 90’s but not using sandpaper. They waited the ball to get old and kept the one side of the ball shiny using their sweat and saliva so that they can use this reverse swing later in the game. 

Back to the incident, back then the whole world knew that Bancroft will face harsh consequences from ICC but the whole world was astonished when the news came out that Captain Steve Smith and Vice Captain David Warner was also involved in this planning. After this news broke out the criticism and the kind of treatment Steve Smith faced can’t be described. Suddenly from high to low, from signing autographs to being pushed by the guards at the airport as if he was a terrorist. Later at the press conference he accepted his involvement and cried at his mistake in front of the whole world. 

ICC imposed ban on all three players for an year and they were not allowed to practice in the nets as well. It was a huge setback for the Australian Cricket. In the web series “THE TESTS” (on prime) it is shown how newly appointed coach Justin Langer had to rebuild that team once again. The world class team like Australia was restructured by motivating the other players to play for their country. But if your star players like Warner and Smith are out who can win matches for their country single – handedly are out then your winning percentage automatically reduces to a great extent. Top side like Australia was losing games. India hammered their team and won the series on the Australian soil for the first time ever. 

Australian side clearly grew weak and was waiting for them to return desperately. But the problem was how you can expect that will carry the same form and will score runs. Not playing a single game for a whole year and suddenly you can’t expect from them that they will win the games like before. Some greats and cricket pundits in their interviews said that their return will just be a formality and career of Steve Smith is almost over. But this gentleman has different plans and the world was about to witness something unbelievable and unexpected. 

Steve Smith, the most unorthodox batsman in the cricket returned before the world cup (ban was lifted) and to everybody’s surprise started to thrash the bowlers again. Australia didn’t win the world cup but to this man something was more important than the World Cup, the oldest and legendary series of cricket – “THE ASHES”. Steve Smith wanted that ashes trophy to prove him again and his supremacy in test cricket. And to this world witnessed one of the most ferocious battle on field. It was the Steve Smith VS. Jofra Archer.

 He was being hit on the helmet by Archer, felt down on the field went back to the dressing room but he didn’t give up. After sometime came to the field and thrashed the England bowlers to score a century. He just completely dominated the series by scoring 774 runs at an average of more than 110 that included three centuries and a similar number of fifties. In the process he broke many records too. 

Presently his average is above 61 in tests and is currently number 1 player in ICC test rankings. That’s Steve Smith and his comeback…..