Smith would have learnt a lesson, says Steve Waugh
A few things are a given when India and Australia play on the cricket field -- fierce competition for starters, bouncers and sledging, monkey faces, and, last but not the least, a fancy phrase or word which would define the series. Remember ‘Monkeygate’ and ‘Homework Gate’. The fancy phrase this season is ‘BrainFade’.
On Tuesday, when Australia were chasing 188-- losing wickets at regular intervals -- Steve Smith was seen looking at the Australian dressing room, awaiting on whether to seek DRS after he was given out leg before off Umesh Yadav.
Smith, later, explained the instance of indecision as the nowfamous ‘brain-fade’ moment, while India skipper Virat Kohli was not amused. They even had an on-field exchange of words.
While many from the cricketing world have already branded it as “fine cheating”, former Australia skipper Steve Waugh said that having known Steve Smith, it’s highly unlikely that he would have cheated deliberately.
“It was a great match, lot of ups and downs and a great contest, which is the hallmark of Test cricket,” said Waugh. “It’s a shame that we are focusing on just one incident from the four days of a great contest. When Smith says that he had suffered a ‘brain-fade’ and that it was not premeditated, I would take it for face value.”
“The good thing about the whole incident was that the umpires stepped in and made the decision straight away,” added Waugh. “And that is where it should have stopped, but things went on after that. Whatever the outcome of this is, Smith would have learnt a lesson. Obviously, he shouldn’t have done that and it’s not in the spirit of the game.”
Waugh said that the incident should be investigated. “It has to be investigated. It needs to come into finality quickly before the next Test match as it’s not good to be talking about this. We need someone from the ICC level to make the decision. Looking back, I am sure Smith would be embarrassed by the moment. It was an high-intensity match and both captains were playing under a lot of pressure.”