Steven Smith
Image Courtesy: Getty

Riding on a brilliant all-round show from former Australia skipper Steven Smith, the Barbados Tridents defeated Jamaica Tallawahs in Match 14 of CPL 2018.

Smith was quite impressive with the bat in hand and scored 63 off 44 deliveries. Courtesy his knock; his franchise posted a competitive 156/6 on the board. Steven Smith also bowled three overs and returned with a couple of wickets to win the Man of the Match Award.

Barbados Tridents, Steven Smith
Barbados Tridents Steven Smith bagged MOM for his outstanding effort with both bat and ball. Image Courtesy: Getty

However, Smith started off his international career as a leg spin bowler. Though he is one of the finest batsmen in the world at the moment, he was cited as the next Shane Warne in the making. The suspended Australian skipper said he was trying to make a few changes with his bowling action.

Steven Smith wants to model his bowling action on Afridi 

“I’ve sort of changed a few things up [in my bowling],” he said. “I’m trying to model my action on Shahid Afridi, pushing it through and try to bowl fast into the wicket. Fortunately, it worked tonight.

“He [Afridi] has been a terrific leg-spinner. I can’t get the momentum into the ball [with my usual action] as I’m growing older. Hopefully, I don’t have to bowl too much!”

Barbados Tridents, Steven Smith
Steven Smith says he has brought some changes to his bowling action. Image Courtesy: Getty

After being put into bat by Tridents, Tallawahs were reduced to 39/3 in the 7th over. It was Smith and Shai Hope who resurrected the innings and added 103 for the 4th wicket.

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They added the 103 runs in just over 11 overs to get the innings on track. Smith’s 63 included five fours and three sixes. Hope scored 43 off 35 deliveries which included a couple of fours and three sixes. Chasing 157 to win, Glenn Philips and Johnson Charles got them off to a flying start adding 80 runs in just 9.1 overs.

Jason Holder ran out of options and went to Steven Smith. He didn’t disappoint and bagged a couple of important wickets. Tallawahs was pretty much on the track after losing the first two wickets. However, Smith’s twin blows were pretty crucial to changing the context of the game.

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