Steve Smith hit a stunner. Then the sandpaper jokes started
One of the most spectacular shots of Steve Smith’s long career has become the excuse for English cricket to make yet another sandpaper joke at his expense.
Playing for Welsh Fire in the Hundred overnight, Smith carved a sublime lofted square drive from the bowling of England seamer Josh Tongue that flew flat into the stands at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Steve Smith hit a six, resulting in the following Instagram post.Credit: Instagram
The shot drew awed responses from a raucous crowd and broadcasters, but not so much from the Hundred’s official social media accounts.
On Instagram, the competition posted a picture of a damaged white Kookaburra ball with the caption “How did Steve Smith damage this ball?”
While the post allowed viewers to swipe to see Smith’s shot off Tongue, the comments were inevitably spiced with replies of “sandpaper” and “same old Aussies, always cheating”.
Since the Hundred’s inception, its social media accounts have tried to earn a reputation for edginess, as has become custom among numerous sporting competitions in Australia and around the world.
But the Smith jibe is a reminder that this is the year of an Ashes bout, during which Australia’s vice captain can expect more reminders of the infamous events in Cape Town back in 2018.
Smith’s comeback summer in England in 2019 was one of the greatest Test series performances, with 774 runs in four Tests and twin hundreds at both the Edgbaston and Old Trafford matches – he missed Headingley with concussion after being struck on the back of the head by Jofra Archer at Lord’s.
After a pair of relatively subdued Ashes series in 2021-22 and 2023, Smith has lately returned to something like his best, making sublime centuries against India and Sri Lanka before having his winter somewhat scuppered by a dislocated finger.
References to Newlands have come up sporadically over the years, most recently when a frustrated Virat Kohli made sandpaper gestures towards the SCG crowd during the final game of the Border-Gavaskar series in January.
Steve Smith reacts after getting out to Josh Tongue.Credit: Getty Images
Tongue eventually got his man, caught behind for 26, and Smith is yet to make a significant impact on the Hundred – he still harbours dreams of a Twenty20 recall to the Australian side in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“It gives me some opportunities to be able to play in some different tournaments and keep trying to put my best foot forward to get back into the T20 team for Australia,” Smith said before the tournament.
“My goal now is to try and play in the Olympics. That’s motivating me, and I want to try and keep getting better at the shorter format.
“Every time I go back and play [Twenty20], I always send [coach Andrew McDonald] a text saying, ‘Did you see that?’ Hopefully, I can send him quite a few texts throughout this month of August.
“It’d be nice to smash a few around the park and send off a text and ask him whether he saw it.”
Plenty of other Australians are very much enjoying themselves, however, even as the cream of the national Twenty20 side are now playing a series against South Africa, while Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and the like are in the gym, preparing for summer.
London Spirit’s David Warner is leading the run-making charts with 150 runs after three games, while Tasmanian speedster Riley Meredith is the second-best wicket-taker with seven victims.
He took 4-9 overnight to ensure Welsh Fire defeated the Oval Invincibles in the Cardiff game, helped by three wickets for another Australian, Chris Green.
Meanwhile, firebrand Lance Morris’ place in Australia’s summer plans is under a cloud after he complained of back trouble during the Top End series against South Africa.
Morris is firmly in the second rank of pace bowlers behind Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Starc and Scott Boland, but a fresh bout of lower-back soreness has forced his return to Perth for further investigation by medicos.
T20 blaster Mitch Owen is out of the rest of the series after a delayed concussion suffered at the hands of Kagiso Rabada in Darwin. Owen was initially deemed fine to keep batting after he was struck on the helmet during Australia’s game two defeat on Tuesday night, but is now out for a minimum 12 days under Cricket Australia protocols.
Matt Short has also been ruled out of the remainder of the series due to slow progress in his recovery from a side strain.
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