ICC World Cup 2019: Steven Smith Unfazed by English Crowd Booing

It is never easy for a player if he is welcomed to the crease by a boo. Steven Smith had a tough time in the last year as he was banned for ball-tampering controversy in the third Test match against South Africa. However, he didn’t let the white noise to get to his mind. The talisman batsman was focussed on the job at the hand and he went on to score a majestic hundred in the warm-up match against arch-rivals England.

Smith has been in fine form since he has made a comeback after serving his ban. The linchpin once again showed that he can be deadly with the bat even after a gap of 12 months. Furthermore, the right-hander decided to let his bat do all the talking for him.

Steven Smith showed great mental strength.

Smith scored a fine knock of 116 runs from 102 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes. Subsequently, Australia won their first warm-up match by 12 runs. The former Australian skipper said he was focussed on doing his job and he was not bothered by the harsh welcome he got from the English crowd. Moreover, David Warner also got the same treatment from the host’s crowd.

“I heard a few things as I went out to bat, but it didn’t really get to me,” said Smith after Australia’s 12-run win. “I’m just trying to keep my head down and move straight ahead and just do my job.

“It doesn’t bother me. It’s just doing my job and I know that I’ve got the support of my teammates up on the balcony and that’s the most important thing.

“If I can make them proud out in the middle and make Australians proud as much as I can – well that’s my job.

“Fortunately today I was able to score a few runs for the team and more importantly spend some time in the middle before our first game of the World Cup.”

Furthermore, Steven Smith also revealed how he felt when he was called a cheat by the English crowd. In fact, there is no doubt that it must have added a lot of pressure on Smith but he showed that he is mentally strong to ignore the unwanted noise.

Smith was at his best.

Smith added, “I just blank it out. They call it white noise. When I am out there I pay no attention to the crowd and just move on with playing the game.”

Steven Smith has made a roaring comeback and it is great news for the Australian team. Smith is a big match player and the defending champions will want their former skipper to continue playing in a similar fashion. Australia will begin their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan at County Ground, Bristol on 1st June.