Who's laughing now? stevesmith49 started the English summer as a villain but he finishes it a hero, as one heartwarming moment in the final Ashes Test proved.
Steve Smith applauded off the field by England fans after getting out at the Oval - amazing to think that would happen at the start of the summer.that standing ovation for Smith actually made the hair on the back of my neck stand upA standing ovation for Smith, who has won the crowds over this summer by performing like an all-time great.
“He was mercilessly booed when he came to England this summer. He departs to a standing ovation,” tweeted Piers Morgan. “What a player and what an extraordinary rehabilitation.That Smith’s record-breaking performance has come in his first series back since serving a 12-month ban for his role in the cheating controversy makes the New South Welshman’s efforts all the more remarkable. The other members of the tampering trio — Cameron Bancroft and David Warner — have endured miserable returns to wearing the baggy green but Smith has prospered like never before. Bancroft was dropped after two Tests and Warner had his worst series ever, scoring just 95 runs in 10 innings and making double figures only twice. Whether the brutal verbal barbs they’ve copped since arriving in the UK affected their performances, only they know, but Smith once described the boos as washing over him like “white noise” and he was the best at conquering not only parochial crowds but the English bowlers too. There were a couple of occasions in the past few months where the harsh treatment of Smith went too far. He single-handedly kept Australia in the World Cup semi-final against England at Edgbaston with a brilliant 85 but was unluckily run out with a direct hit that went between his legs. As he trudged off the field, instead of acknowledging the brilliance of his knock, the English faithful gave Smith hell. Then there were the tasteless boos that accompanied Smith’s return to the field at Lord’s after being floored by a Jofra Archer bouncer to the neck — which were rightly slammed by many as “disgraceful”.But hopefully the classy reception Smith received on day four in the English capital means the days of hounding the former Aussie skipper for his lack of leadership in that changeroom at Newlands are over. If the boos were designed to put Smith off his game, they didn’t work because he went to another stratosphere with the willow. If they were intended to make him uncomfortable emotionally they failed in that respect too, because when Smith said regularly the crowd’s reaction didn’t affect him, he meant it. The only thing that matters to Smith the cricketer is batting and nothing was going to take him off course as he made up for lost time after spending a year in the wilderness away from the game he loves more than anything. The next chapter in Smith’s career will be written when he plays his first match Down Under since the darkest hour in the country’s cricket history. The Aussies start a Test series against Pakistan at The Gabba in November, where he’ll front the Australian public for the first time since returning to international action. What response Warner receives — if he’s even in the team, given his horror showing on this tour — remains to be seen, because he was shamed as the ringleader in the ball tampering fiasco. But you can bet when Smith walks out to bat in Brisbane, the Queenslanders will shower the best since Bradman with the same love that was on display at The Oval.
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