[VIDEO] Steve Smith allegedly scuffing Rishabh Pant’s guard mark

[Buffet]

And logically speaking, how do you even ask for DRS advice? You only get so many seconds and it's not like people upstairs have time to review the decision within required time frame.

You won't be able to quickly review it all the time, but sometimes you can review it quickly to pass a signal. Smith was doing it repeatedly and when caught he admitted he did it due to brain-fade.

 

[jiduguravindra]

There could be two reasons.

1) he is a fidgety, OCD person. We all know that. So just had itch to do that.

2) he tried to get into Pant’s head by messing with his guard.

Neither qualifies as cheating and if anyone calls it cheating they are really getting desperate. IMO it’s just not in correct spirit of the sport perhaps but no body including Kohli cares for that.

I agree that it doesn't qualify for cheating but aus doing everything they can do to get win probably didn't need to do.

 

[Slog]

Funny thing is Pant came back from drinks, took guard again and carried on and almost scored a century... no one cared except some random people on the internet. Batsmen have to take guard several times during a long innings so it’s not even an issue from Pant’s perspective

The only issue is the pettiness on part of Smith.

 

[JaDed]

Tbf i hope the journalists ask Smith what he was thinking while doing this as to what is achieved by this? Pant is no Dravid ..

 

[MenInG]

Don't let your bias against a team cloud common sense.

Simple question to ask is why would the fielding side scruff up a batsmans guard marks during a break? Surely the batter would just take the guard again, but does the lack of impact make this anything other than despicable & pathetic?

This is akin to the fielding team hiding the batsmans gear (gloves for instance) they've left near the stumps while on a drinks break. Of course the batters will notice the missing gear when they return, but that doesn't make the action any less vile and deplorable

Dont get riled up - not everything that Australians do is cheating and questioning whatever happens to India doesnt automatically become bias.

Find me the law which he has violated and lets discuss this. Incessant crying is not the way forward.

As I said its strange and not seen it before but apart from that much ado about nothing.

 

[Slog]

You won't be able to quickly review it all the time, but sometimes you can review it quickly to pass a signal. Smith was doing it repeatedly and when caught he admitted he did it due to brain-fade.

I doubt it was really giving them much of an advantage tho considering people sitting on the balcony are much further away and usually won’t get to immediately watch a replay and tell whether to review in the prescribed time.

Smith seems to be in habit of doing petty things which don’t help him or the team much lol.

 

[Gilly]

You won't be able to quickly review it all the time, but sometimes you can review it quickly to pass a signal. Smith was doing it repeatedly and when caught he admitted he did it due to brain-fade.

Signal about what, there are no replays before he has to review. What are the people in the stand going to signal, they have yet to see a replay.

 

[Buffet]

So checked. The worse case scenario for Smith would be a first warning if umpire deems this to have damaged the pitch and playing conditions l.

I don't think it will have an impact because doing it so close to where the batsman is batting makes it not useful for bowlers. It was a mostly dirty play if done intentionally. There could be some rules still. but I don't think it has an impact on batting conditions.

 

[Slog]

Tbf i hope the journalists ask Smith what he was thinking while doing this as to what is achieved by this? Pant is no Dravid ..

Prolly nothing. Funnily enough this might actually be a mindless brain fade compared to the last time he used the excuse

 

[Buffet]

I doubt it was really giving them much of an advantage tho considering people sitting on the balcony are much further away and usually won’t get to immediately watch a replay and tell whether to review in the prescribed time.

Smith seems to be in habit of doing petty things which don’t help him or the team much lol.

If you are motivated, you can record and watch the replay. With all the tech, it's pretty easy to quickly watch what happened in the previous ball. It won't be the same as DRS replays, but you can have extra input coming from outside of the ground. I can't say for sure what advantage Smith was getting, but he was doing it and he admitted.

 

[Devadwal]

Wow most of Pakistani fans support this cheater, I'm not surprised .but What was his intention to change the gaurd ,Was he batting or bowling or just another brainfaid?

 

[Gilly]

If you are motivated, you can record and watch the replay. With all the tech, it's pretty easy to quickly watch what happened in the previous ball. It won't be the same as DRS replays, but you can have extra input coming from outside of the ground. I can't say for sure what advantage Smith was getting, but he was doing it and he admitted.

Yeah he was looking at the stand, and you think they had some secret agents that hyper analyse every ball at warp speed in case of a review.

if as you say then with a small ear piece you could locate these secret agents all over the ground and anywhere you look there could be an agent in disguise as a supporter. They should change the rules and the players can't look anywhere for 12 seconds.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Its not cheating , but he did this to unsettle Pant.
Things like this shouldn’t be allowed.
What if someone does this after every ball?

 

[Shaddy86]

Why do umpire's allow shadow batting when the team has already batted both their innings? Why should they be allowed on the pitch? Stay the heck off it and yes it is cheating. It's dirty and it's cheating. This is why I really admired NZ players when they were in a similar situation with Pakistan but they played fairly and won it fairly.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Also that brainfade moment was definitely cheating, no doubts about it.
Smith himself confessed, dunno why some posters are even discussing it

 

[Buffet]

Yeah he was looking at the stand, and you think they had some secret agents that hyper analyse every ball at warp speed in case of a review.

.

What I think is not important.

Smith was doing it repeatedly, got caught, and admitted. Smith may be able to tell if there was some secret agent or he just had brain-fade multiple times.

 

[Madplayer]

Appalling behaviour whoever did it

 

[da_don]

If Kohli had done this, this thread would have had 200+ posts. [MENTION=43051]Mobashir[/MENTION] alone would have 100+.

and if smith had done the same thing against pakistan you would be taking smith's side and saying its not a big deal... all you try to do around here is bash pakistan and lick indians behinds... its like you get off on it

 

[happydavy]

No big deal really...Strange people calling it cheating or dishonesty, its neither.

 

[Mamoon]

and if smith had done the same thing against pakistan you would be taking smith's side and saying its not a big deal... all you try to do around here is bash pakistan and lick indians behinds... its like you get off on it

He wouldn’t need to do it against Pakistan.

It is easier to beat Pakistan than it is to breath air.

 

[Slog]

If Smith did it against Pakistan, OP would have never made the thread and called PakiStani fans ‘crybabies’ when they complained.

I would have called them crybabies too though

 

[Suleiman]

Afridi did his idiocy shamelessly for the whole world to see. Everyone knew he was a wild man and he didn’t hide it. A lot of stupid decisions by him, but he owned up to them. (Re: afridi biting ball)

Smith is a conniving little snake who looks like a nice guy but strikes when you’re not looking. A much more dangerous individual.

 

[Slog]

Afridi did his idiocy shamelessly for the whole world to see. Everyone knew he was a wild man and he didn’t hide it. A lot of stupid decisions by him, but he owned up to them. (Re: afridi biting ball)

Smith is a conniving little snake who looks like a nice guy but strikes when you’re not looking. A much more dangerous individual.

Afridi did it literally on the middle of the pitch. And he owned up when he was caught, charged and banned

 

[Slog]

In the drinks break just now, the groundsmen came and cleared the debris off the pitch and the crease thus removing the batsmen’s guard. After the play resumed the batsmen had to take their guard again.

Groundsmen cheating!!??!?!!

 

[Proactive_]

Yeah this is clutching at straws stuff here. Sure Steve Smith doesn't have an impeccable record as far as cricketing integrity is concerned but that doesn't mean there has to be a witch hunting expedition every time the guy does anything.

 

[Mamoon]

In the drinks break just now, the groundsmen came and cleared the debris off the pitch and the crease thus removing the batsmen’s guard. After the play resumed the batsmen had to take their guard again.

Groundsmen cheating!!??!?!!

View attachment 106050

It is the groundstaff’s job clean the pitch and clear the debris. If they happen to remove the batsmens guard, so be it.

However, it is not Smith or any fielder’s place to remove the guard. The fact Smith has resorted to do it shows how under pressure and rattled Australian team is. They cannot believe that they are not rolling over a heavily depleted and distracted Indian team 4-0.

Using your logic, you can defend ball-tampering by stating that the ball roughs up naturally and starts to reserve any way. In that case, you can accuse the outfield of tampering with the ball just like you are accusing the groundstaff now.

 

[aloo paratha]

and if smith had done the same thing against pakistan you would be taking smith's side and saying its not a big deal... all you try to do around here is bash pakistan and lick indians behinds... its like you get off on it

He'd say that delusional people like us Pakistanis deserve this type of treatment A grade clown

 

[Line and Length]

Wow most of Pakistani fans support this cheater, I'm not surprised .but What was his intention to change the gaurd ,Was he batting or bowling or just another brainfaid?

How do you guys allow comments like this on the site? Imagine if a Pakistani fan said that first line on an Indian forum. They would be torn to shreds and banned.

 

[Slog]

It is the groundstaff’s job clean the pitch and clear the debris. If they happen to remove the batsmens guard, so be it.

However, it is not Smith or any fielder’s place to remove the guard. The fact Smith has resorted to do it shows how under pressure and rattled Australian team is. They cannot believe that they are not rolling over a heavily depleted and distracted Indian team 4-0.

Using your logic, you can defend ball-tampering by stating that the ball roughs up naturally and starts to reserve any way. In that case, you can accuse the outfield of tampering with the ball just like you are accusing the groundstaff now.

Your analogy is as poor as your allegation imo...

As it turns out the ground staff are removing debris and consequently the batting guards in drinks breaks. So Pant’s guard was removed anyway. Which is why he didn’t even notices

Much ado about nothing... the only one getting desperate at that point was you considering state of the game then.

 

[Mamoon]

Also, the excuse that it didn’t impact Pant doesn’t fly. The severity (or lack of) of an act doesn’t justify the act itself.

This series has exposed the Elite Honesty acting that Australia have done over the last two years after getting humiliated in South Africa.

They played like lambs against India in 2018 because they didn’t think they could beat them then, but this time around, they came out all guns blazing because they were full-strength, but the way the depleted India have played has shook them badly, hence the desperation.

Australia fears India. You can see it.

 

[Mamoon]

Your analogy is as poor as your allegation imo...

As it turns out the ground staff are removing debris and consequently the batting guards in drinks breaks. So Pant’s guard was removed anyway. Which is why he didn’t even notices

Much ado about nothing... the only one getting desperate at that point was you considering state of the game then.

It doesn’t matter if it was removed anyway. It was not the job and the place of Steve “the cheat” Smith to do it.

 

[Slog]

It doesn’t matter if it was removed anyway. It was not the job and the place of Steve “the cheat” Smith to do it.

To call this cheating just shows desperation but Carry on....

 

[Mamoon]

To call this cheating just shows desperation but Carry on....

The desperation is among the Aussies who were wetting their pants against depleted India at home and Pakistani fans who are rubbing their eyes after doing bhangra after Adelaide.

 

[Gilly]

Also, the excuse that it didn’t impact Pant doesn’t fly. The severity (or lack of) of an act doesn’t justify the act itself.

This series has exposed the Elite Honesty acting that Australia have done over the last two years after getting humiliated in South Africa.

They played like lambs against India in 2018 because they didn’t think they could beat them then, but this time around, they came out all guns blazing because they were full-strength, but the way the depleted India have played has shook them badly, hence the desperation.

Australia fears India. You can see it.

And another thing Mamoon is by removing and adding different letters in the name you can get the word satan from Australia which proves they are really evil and doing the devils work.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Probably no law violated.

However, it exposes extreme desperation from Smith and Australia - which makes their last innings horror show even more glaring.

India come out of this test with their credibility enhanced - both cricketing and moral. Thank you Smith.

 

[Indiafan]

Lol, this is like a child attempting to distract the batsman

 

[Mobashir]

If Kohli had done this, this thread would have had 200+ posts. [MENTION=43051]Mobashir[/MENTION] alone would have 100+.

Well, when you created the thread I thought is was some kind of a joke or just a celebration of the very good effort by the Indian team to draw the match.

It can't be a serious allegation of cheating, just try to put some sense into what you are writing.

What do you think happened next ball Pant faced? He lost his guard? Pant had just ask to umpire for a new guard at most, otherwise I am sure he was fine.

Don't know it can be seen as cheating.
Cheating is what Pant did in the first innings with the catch, from his reaction you know he wasn't sure, but instead of telling it to the umpires he preferred to celebrate the catch with team mates.

 

[Slog]

Lol all said and done this thread was pretty funny in the context of the game.

When the thread was made, India was down and out no one would give them a prayer and hence the preemptive thread. In such times I guess you tend to look for all sorts of insane excuses and allegations and OP came up with this

 

[Ashmal]

Lol all said and done this thread was pretty funny in the context of the game.

When the thread was made, India was down and out no one would give them a prayer and hence the preemptive thread. In such times I guess you tend to look for all sorts of insane excuses and allegations and OP came up with this

True....remember that 36AO shouldn't be counted in records just because a batsman got hurt.

 

[Mamoon]

Lol all said and done this thread was pretty funny in the context of the game.

When the thread was made, India was down and out no one would give them a prayer and hence the preemptive thread. In such times I guess you tend to look for all sorts of insane excuses and allegations and OP came up with this

As I have said multiples time, the severity of his cheating makes no difference. What matters is the desperation and frustration among the Australians. This is what they have to resort to in order to beat a depleted India at home.

They are rattled and in fear of India. They cannot believe the resilience India have showed after Adelaide.

Australia’s elite honesty acting has been brutally exposed. They are just a bunch of cheats with Smith leading the way.

Not only is he the best Test batsman in the world, he is also the biggest cheat in the world.

 

[Slog]

As I have said multiples time, the severity of his cheating makes no difference. What matters is the desperation and frustration among the Australians. This is what they have to resort to in order to beat a depleted India at home.

They are rattled and in fear of India. They cannot believe the resilience India have showed after Adelaide.

Australia’s elite honesty acting has been brutally exposed. They are just a bunch of cheats with Smith leading the way.

Not only is he the best Test batsman in the world, he is also the biggest cheat in the world.

The discussion about the severity of cheating would come into play after it’s classified as cheating...

 

[Mamoon]

The discussion about the severity of cheating would come into play after it’s classified as cheating...

Smith tried to cheat but his cheating didn’t work. He got humiliated real good.

 

[Gilly]

The discussion about the severity of cheating would come into play after it’s classified as cheating...

Smith once took a pen from his hotel room, its not that it was just a pen it was stealing and its just the same as stealing from a bank so he should be put in jail at least until he is 50.

 

[Devadwal]

Rahane (in Press) said "I didint see what Steve Smith did, I will react after watching the see the video".

 

[Slog]

Smith tried to cheat but his cheating didn’t work. He got humiliated real good.

Under the official rules of the game it’s not cheating. The only attempted cheating in this game was by Rishab Pant

 

[Varun]

Lol all said and done this thread was pretty funny in the context of the game.

When the thread was made, India was down and out no one would give them a prayer and hence the preemptive thread. In such times I guess you tend to look for all sorts of insane excuses and allegations and OP came up with this

The OP is not an Indian though.

 

[sharmaji]

It was not cheating, but it was weird and kind of unpleasant thing to do. Given Smith's history, this adds to his list of embarrassments. But this is not cheating or foul play.

 

[Hasan123]

It is is a bizarre thing to do. But it is not cheating.

 

[Slog]

The OP is not an Indian though.

He is a bigger Indian fan than you though lol

 

[Mamoon]

Smith right now...

 

[Romali_rotti]

To be fair if an Indian kid did similar on TV and was caught there would be a thread on here immediately with a lot of replies questioning the morality....

 

[Zaz]

Indian supporters like mamoon need to stop being cry babies n grow a spine

No need to make a mountain out of a molehill n start crying at the drop of a hat

 

[Varun]

Smith should never captain again. Always has a sinister mind along with Warner.

 

[MP2011]

Wasn't cheating but I get where CA is coming from for not appointing Smith as their captain and instead appoints someone as harmless (for opposition) as Paine as the captain.

 

[Indiafan]

Indian supporters like mamoon need to stop being cry babies n grow a spine

No need to make a mountain out of a molehill n start crying at the drop of a hat

Making fun of Aussie desperation is the opposite of crying. We are mocking how desperate Paine, Smith etc are getting against an Indian side missing so many top players

 

[Indiafan]

True....remember that 36AO shouldn't be counted in records just because a batsman got hurt.

If our 2-1 victory in 2018 cannot be counted because a couple of players were injured, then this makes sense too

 

[Varun]

For someone who was banned from international cricket for over a year he should make sure he is on his top behaviour and take the spotlight away from himself.

 

[MP2011]

For someone who was banned from international cricket for over a year he should make sure he is on his top behaviour and take the spotlight away from himself.

Old habits die hard.

 

[Devadwal]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is very very poor from Steve smith !! <a href="https://t.co/UwUz7zrdzx">https://t.co/UwUz7zrdzx</a></p>— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1348566428010614789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

Smith tried to cheat but his cheating didn’t work. He got humiliated real good.

Remind us about the result of this match? Ah yes, the "honorable draw" which to many is a win - which it is not.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Very needless and disrespectful of him to do that. He truly is suffering from some sort of a bipolar disorder. Mostly he's nice as a cow, then reckon bad Smith in his mind tells him to act otherwise.

 

[HitWicket]

Under the official rules of the game it’s not cheating. The only attempted cheating in this game was by Rishab Pant

It's deliberate damage to the pitch without reasonable cause.

 

[Revolution]

That's the reason, I never call him great cricketer and cannot be also though he scores runs.

 

[King_Kohli]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Let’s be honest the captain of Australia since sandpaper gate has led this team with great distinction,attitude & never once has he crossed the line of negativity in my eyes,but today his language behind the stumps & sledging today was back to the old days !! Very very poor !!</p>— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1348593779918430208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Nikhil_cric]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Let’s be honest the captain of Australia since sandpaper gate has led this team with great distinction,attitude & never once has he crossed the line of negativity in my eyes,but today his language behind the stumps & sledging today was back to the old days !! Very very poor !!</p>— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1348593779918430208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ashwin got under his skin. Told him straight up that his career would end if he toured India. Aussies losing the battle of wits as well. Paine lost his temper and called Ashwin a ****head and then went on to drop a catch the next over ) Sledging backfired bigtime.

 

[silentkiller187]

so smith practiced some shadow batting during the interval, stepped on the area were pants guard is, and because he wears spikes his footprint scuffed up the guard a bit, therefore when pant had to come out to bat again he had to take a new guard?

All i am going to say on this matter is imagine the ridicule that would have followed had a Pakistani poster highlighted this happening against Pakistan.

 

[Varun]

so smith practiced some shadow batting during the interval, stepped on the area were pants guard is, and because he wears spikes his footprint scuffed up the guard a bit, therefore when pant had to come out to bat again he had to take a new guard?

All i am going to say on this matter is imagine the ridicule that would have followed had a Pakistani poster highlighted this happening against Pakistan.

I would completely be on Pakistan's side if it was a convicted cheat like Smith doing it.

 

[chuck]

The law pertains to danger area so this wouldn’t fall into that.

It’s just bizarre antics. May be to get into Pant’s head. That’s the only way it makes sense if he did it with a plan. It could also be just mindless. Don’t know. I would call it unprofessional but don’t think breaks any rules

Do you have any knowledge of laws of the game or just blowing off on top of your head? And I don't mean this to ridicule you, I seriously want to know.

The laws relating to unfair play esp. laws 41.12.1 and 41.12.2 pertains to any fielder causing deliberate and avoidable damage to any part of the pitch without any reasonable cause - not just the danger area. I would love to see what reasonable cause Smith had to do that act on the pitch.

That said, he would probably get away because it wasn't caught by the umpires and caught later on camera. If you look at the clip he knew what he was doing and tried to just stand their innocently without showing his face and when no one was looking did that act. Only got caught because his jersey number was visible.

 

[MP2011]

Thats why Smith is nowhere near Kohli as a cricketer despite his stellar test record. Kohli plays his cricket with complete honesty while Smith has cheated multiple times already.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Mountain out of a molehill.

Completely inconsequential act blown out of proportion.

What impact would it have had on Pant, unless there's a rule barring batsmen from marking out their guards more than once per innings?

 

[MP2011]

Do you have any knowledge of laws of the game or just blowing off on top of your head? And I don't mean this to ridicule you, I seriously want to know.

The laws relating to unfair play esp. laws 41.12.1 and 41.12.2 pertains to any fielder causing deliberate and avoidable damage to any part of the pitch without any reasonable cause - not just the danger area. I would love to see what reasonable cause Smith had to do that act on the pitch.

That said, he would probably get away because it wasn't caught by the umpires and caught later on camera. If you look at the clip he knew what he was doing and tried to just stand their innocently without showing his face and when no one was looking did that act. Only got caught because his jersey number was visible.

People are excusing him by saying that he has OCD issues etc. lol, Kohli won't have been as lucky had he done what Smith did today.

 

[chuck]

People are excusing him by saying that he has OCD issues etc. lol, Kohli won't have been as lucky had he done what Smith did today.

It wasn't OCD - he went there, stood for a while and only did this after a while when no one was looking. That is not OCD, If it was OCD - he would have done that instinctively and in a natural way. For me - it was a purely deliberate act and he tried his best to not get caught which shows "it's only bad when you get caught" mentality. Might get away with this one but he is and would always be a cheat.

 

[JattMaula]

Not cheating.

Smith is a multiple time proven cheat but this is nothing. And by his standards it's less than nothing.

 

[MP2011]

It wasn't OCD - he went there, stood for a while and only did this after a while when no one was looking. That is not OCD, If it was OCD - he would have done that instinctively and in a natural way. For me - it was a purely deliberate act and he tried his best to not get caught which shows "it's only bad when you get caught" mentality. Might get away with this one but he is and would always be a cheat.

True. Cheating or not, it was a deliberate act.

 

[Slog]

People who are claiming that it removed Pant’s guard clearly haven’t paid attention to what happens in drinks breaks...

 

[chuck]

People who are claiming that it removed Pant’s guard clearly haven’t paid attention to what happens in drinks breaks...

Enlighten us, does Smith goes on to remove everyone's guards during drinks break (not just Pant's)? If so, that's ok then.

 

[Firebat]

Enlighten us, does Smith goes on to remove everyone's guards during drinks break (not just Pant's)? If so, that's ok then.

I'm not sure, but I would guess he's referring to the groundsmen that come out during the drinks break and sweep the crease area and repaint the crease lines etcetera

 

[happydavy]

My first post on this thread was that it is nothing, it is innocuous but then i am no professional cricketer so my view was based upon basic knowledge and instinct. However, if Vaughan and Sehwag are calling it wrong, then i would believe them

https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1348566428010614789

 

[happydavy]

I'm not sure, but I would guess he's referring to the groundsmen that come out during the drinks break and sweep the crease area and repaint the crease lines etcetera

It doesn't happen during every drinks break

 

[chuck]

I'm not sure, but I would guess he's referring to the groundsmen that come out during the drinks break and sweep the crease area and repaint the crease lines etcetera

Unless Smith's has been given additional duties of groundsmen to earn a bit extra, he had no business doing that during a live match. The act was deliberate and without reasonable cause and therefore not on the right side of law for fair play and/or within the spirit of the game.