Australia stand-in captain Steve Smith (right) with England captain Joe Root during the coin toss of the Ashes Second Test at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Highlights
- Steve Smith stepped in as Australia stand-in captain after Cummins was ruled out for 2nd Test
- Cummins was ruled out before the start when he was deemed a close contact of a Covid-19 case
- Back in 2018, Smith lost captaincy & was banned for a year after getting embroiled in ball tampering
Former England captain Michael Atherton has questioned Steve Smith's leadership skills and Englands team selection, especially Jack Leach's ouster, ahead of the second Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Smith took over from Michael Clarke in 2015 as Australia's Test captain and served in the role until 2018 when he was ousted after the sandpaper scandal in South Africa.
After serving a year ban, Smith returned to cricket and was later named the vice-captain to Pat Cummins ahead of the Ashes when Tim Paine stepped down over the recent infamous text scandal. And ahead of the second Ashes Test on Thursday, Cummins was ruled out before the start when he was deemed a close contact of a Covid-19 positive case while dining indoors in a restaurant on Wednesday night. The development meant that Smith was back as the Test captain for Australia for the first time since 2018.
Atherton, though, doesn't seem to be convinced with Smith stepping in as the Test captain.
"I think once you've been punished and done your time in any reasonable society there must be a chance for people to come again," said the 53-year-old former England captain on SEN Test Cricket. "The only thing I wonder about Steve Smith, his role as captain generally' he's so self-absorbed it seems to me as a cricketer, certainly as a batsman, he seems to exist in his own world, this bubble.
"I just wonder about his role generally as captain, I have no problems with him being given the opportunity again, whether he's the best man for it is another question. I've always found it odd the slight differential in punishment between Smith and David Warner, I've never quite understood that."
Atherton was further unimpressed by England leaving out left-arm spinner Jack Leach from the playing eleven on spin-friendly conditions in Adelaide. Leach had conceded 102 runs in 13 overs and had a wicket of Marnus Labuschagne in Brisbane.
"It's curious isn't it, we're here at Adelaide, there's not a cloud in the sky, the pitch looks brown and England have five seamers. Last week at the Gabba, the pitch looked tinged with green, it seemed cloudy and overcast and a bit of humidity as well and they went with the spinner."
"It seems curious and counter-intuitive. I think it's one of the problems England have at the moment, they slightly overthink matters and they're always playing a game ahead of themselves rather than the game that's right in front of them."
