Former Australian skipper, Steve Smith, who is facing a year ban imposed by Cricket Australia (CA) earlier this year, was seen batting at the nets session against his New South Wales state-mates Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to prepare them to face Virat Kohli and his men in the upcoming four-Test series, during which Hazlewood floored him with a short ball.
Smith was banned from international cricket because of his involvement in the ball-tampering controversy that erupted in South Africa in March, but as per the reports of cricket.com.au., he batted well during his stint at the SCG nets on Monday. As per the website’s first-hand report, Steve was having some minor troubles while facing the trio on a couple testing deliveries from Hazlewood. One attempted hook shot to a bouncer saw Smith lose balance and fall to the ground.
The reports of cricket.com.au also suggested that despite the fact that the speed gun was missing during the practice session, but the trio of Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins hit good speeds. The NSW pace trio has been rested for the latest Sheffield Shield match in order to be in top shape for the first Test against India starting December 6 in Adelaide.
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However, Starc has had a game for Australia’s T2oI squad as he played the deciding match at the SCG on Sunday, which India won to level the series 1-1.
Whoops! Steve Smith didn’t have it all his own way against Australia’s Test quicks at the SCG, but he also peeled off some trademark shots. WATCH: https://t.co/TqBm1vvBKt pic.twitter.com/lAxNdVpdRx
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 27, 2018
Western Australia batsman Sam Whiteman, who will lead a Cricket Australia XI in a four-day game against India at the SCG from Tuesday, was one of the players to practice with Smith and his Ashes-winning team-mates.
Talking about his experience, Whiteman said, “That was pretty good to watch actually. That’s not a great net to face up in.”It looked like they were bowling well and to be fair Steve Smith made it look like he had a bit of time in there, which is pretty amazing to watch. It is good to see him (Smith) around the traps, especially his attitude throughout this whole thing. He still can’t play for five or six months, so to see him in there training getting frustrated when he nicks one is pretty cool to see and definitely a great lesson for all those younger guys.”
