VIDEO | Disappointed Steve Smith takes eternity to walk off field after umpire's bizarre 'delayed' decision
Steve Smith has been an absolute monster with the bat off late and his good run continued in the Sheffield Shield. However, Smith attracted attention for a different reason on Tuesday, as he vented out his frustration by taking an eternity to walk off the field after a controversial umpiring call.
What is the one thing Steve Smith loves doing the most? Batting. What is the one thing, as a human being, you do not want to be doing to make Smith angry? Well, stop him from batting, that too, unfairly, I suppose? Well, spare a thought for the on-field umpire in the match between New South Wales and Western Australia, who just committed that heinous crime.
On a rather flat Sydney deck on a sunny Tuesday morning, Smith posted his 42nd first-class ton and looked on course for a daddy Sheffield hundred. After showcasing incredible patience on Day 1, Smith decided to unleash on Day 2 and in particular, took a liking to the bowling ofĀ Liam O Connor, D'Arcy Short and Marcus Stoinis, smacking them for boundaries all over the park. Batting on 103, it looked like Smith had switched to T20 mode and was ready to throw all he got at the poor Western Australian bowlers.
On the fourth ball of the 121st over, with the keeper standing up to the stumps, Stoinis bowled a bouncer outside off-stump to Smith, which Smith, with his swordsman-like technique, tried to uppercut it over third man. But he failed to connect with it and keeper Josh Inglish took a good relfex take, which otherwise, would have raced off the boundary. After missing the uppercut, Smith shadow-practiced the shot, annoyed at himself at missing it, and after that, a subdued appeal followed from both the keeper and the bowler.
But after a two-second delay, despite looking uninterested for the most part, the umpire bizarrely raised his finger and ruled Smith out. The decision left the New South Welshman in utter shock, who even for a brief moment did not believe that he hit it. Smith stood his ground for a good few seconds before reluctantly leaving the field, but that was not the catch of the incident. He walked so slow that he almost took a whole minute to leave the ground and whilst leaving, despite having scored a century, did not acknowledge the home crowd till the very end, before raising his bat in disappointment with an expression which almost read 'Yeah, I know I scored a ton, but that was NOT OUT'.Ā
Don't be surprised if he takes his anger out on the Pakistani bowlers in the first Test at Gabba.Ā Ā
NEVER tell Steve Smith he has to stop batting!
ā cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 12, 2019
A bizarre dismissal brings the right-hander's 42nd first-class century to an end #SheffieldShield pic.twitter.com/KNEDpjtiFp