Chance beckons for Steve Smith to build an indelible legacy on Test comeback
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Would Monica Selesâ legacy stand the test of time had she not won the Australian Open three years after she was stabbed on her back in Hamburg? Or would we celebrate Niki Lauda the way we do now if not for the F1 Championship runner-up title in the same season he crashed at the Nurburgring?
Successful sporting comebacks are a beautiful thing. The world celebrated Tiger Woods for winning his 15th Masters title in Augusta - arguably the greatest comeback story in any sports - which saved a record-breaking career that had taken a deep nosedive after he was told of being unable to sit at a dinner table or play with his children due to the extent of his back impairment.
What about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal winning slams for fun even though the world thought they had seen the last of the masters in 2016? What about Lester Piggott winning the Breedersâ Cup Mile at the age of 54, just 10 days after he finished a year in prison for tax fraud? We haven't even talked about Ben Hogan's US Open Golf victory a year and a half after he nearly died in a car crash with an oncoming bus.
The romance of it lingers, to see a sportsman making a full-wave to his career and changing the perception with some measurable achievements before walking into the sunset. The story remains, the faith reaffirms itself and eventually, it establishes a complex truth that sporting achievements can never be a logbook of deeds on the pitches or courts. It is a far bigger than that and what better opportunity for Steve Smith than this Ashes to establish a legacy that would be etched in the minds of millions.
In contemporary cricket, probably no cricketer has transformed himself more than Smith did in Tests. From being considered as a leg-spinning all-rounder to changing his stance which eventually helped him become one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket, he quickly established himself the second-best Aussie batsman after Sir Don Bradman and was racing at a speed that made the world gasping for breath.
However, a year is a long time in cricket and ever since Cameron Bancroft was found having hands struck down the pants at Newlands, there was no representative red-ball cricket for Smith and the Ashes will be the first time he will come out not being the captain of the Test side since 2015. The subtlety of it all will have a huge bearing, as it did during the World Cup, in the Ashes as much just like it was for Mitchell Johnson and Ricky Ponting in 2009.Â
The Barmy Army song for Johnson destabilized him for a year before he picked up the debris and produced some of the devastating spells in the 2013 summer that seemingly sent Jonathan Trott to the abyss. Ponting was mellowed down to an extent that he was affected by it and it didnât take him long to announce retirement from the sport.Â
In the truest sense, it actually goes both ways. From Darren Lehmannâs hypocrite rant about Stuart Broad's edge off Ashton Agar, where he said, âhe doesnât advocate walkingâ but called Broad a âcheatâ for not walking or Michael Vaughan calling Trent Bridge crowd to âpeltâ at the Aussies during the Ashes, no side can claim to be sane. And now with the Ashes being less than a week away, only a fool will come forward and say Smith wonât be under pressure amidst the boos and chants of âcheat" by the hostile Barmy Army fans.
Instead of getting affected by it, as Smith and Warner showed it in the World Cup, it should rather empower themselves for bigger and grander success. Smithâs impregnable mental belief has been a constant presence throughout his career and anyone who has played against him tells that he thrives in such situations. England is one country that troubled him to no end as a batsman too. A career average of 61.37 drops down to 43.31 in England where apart from few occasional bursts of brilliance, he doesnât have any great records to show. Although he dominated the Englishmen at home, scoring at an average of 65.16, this series offers him a chance to secure bragging rights in front of the traditional opponents.Â
Why would it matter though? When we talk about a cricketing legacy, it is as much about numbers that were racked up over the years, as much it is about making a successful comeback to a place that doesnât give you a chance to breathe properly. Smith knows it is the chance to go 1-0 up for him while sending the âcheatâ talk to oblivion. And meanwhile, scoring some runs for fun.
As Englandâs current national selector Ed Smith once wrote in a column for Cricinfo, âSport, with its rich reserves of statistics, naturally invites arguments, couched in apparently rational terms, about measuring greatness. They are diverting enough, but also beside the point. Time, not numbers, is the ultimate arbiter. As with the artist, the athlete's real achievement is not just to lodge in the record books, but to leave a mark in memoriesâ.
For the former Aussie Captain, this will be the start of a new phase in his life that will mark a new beginning and of course, new memories. Just hope that he overcomes the setback that would come on his way like many Aussies have done it over the years, no matter who the oppositions are.
