AUS vs PAK | Twitter in splits as Steve Smith's eagle-eye vision leads to mini Takeshi's Castle contest

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Some batters in the modern era have become thoroughly infamous for their on-field tantrums, with Steve Smith as the cult leader. However, his obsessive search for detail led to an unusual delay on Friday as chaos and entertainment arose when he spotted a piece of paper behind the sight screen.

Pakistan gained a strong foothold in the New Year's Test at Sydney Cricket Ground with two quick scalps before Lunch on Day 3 to break a 79-run third wicket stand and give the side hopes of gaining a first-innings lead, with Australia still 125 runs off their score of 313. The pair of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne had looked formidable all morning but fell in the space of six balls in a spell of play that began with some frantic sight screen antics.

During the changeover after Hasan Ali completed the 70th over of the innings, Smith took a moment to indicate to the umpire that something had been distracting him off in the distance. Not apparent at first despite the high-definition cameras, a closer inspection revealed a crumpled piece of tape was lying at the center of the huge tarpaulin covering the seats behind the sight screen. Even the Pakistan players struggled to spot what was causing the delay before Babar Azam took it upon himself to point his teammates towards what appeared no more than a black speck from the nearly 100-meter distance. 

A groundsman had to run to the middle of the pitch to take note of Smith's concerns before sprinting off to fix it, only to end up standing helplessly by the white tarp. Eventually, a couple of groundsmen sprinted in from another section of the crowd with a huge broom in hand with the whole crowd fixated on their actions before realizing the instrument was not long enough and they'd have to climb the tarp all the same. A young member of the staff volunteered as he cautiously made his way up the polyester with the crowd cheering every moment while 'oohs' and 'aahs' emanated upon every wobble. Ultimately, the piece of tape was retrieved safely much to a huge cheer from the crowd, and while a section of Twitter criticized Smith for causing the delay unnecessarily, the lapse of concentration did ultimately lead to his demise as well as bucketloads of entertainment.

Game Stopped!

What a distraction!

He can't find it though!

Only he knows

It was not funny mate!

Drama!

A sweet little distraction

Finally it was dealt with

That he is...

You missed nothing

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