Baggy green is tainted by Smith’s snarl
It IS often said that the captain of the Australian cricket team is the second- most important job in the country after the Prime Minister. It’s why an entire nation is so outraged by Steve Smith admitting he tried to cheat.
In England, you are very aware as a cricketer that you operate in the shadow of football. But when you arrive in Australia, things are different. I’ve always said that an Ashes tour is about more than taking on a team — it’s taking on an entire country. And at the head of it all is the captain, the man who dictates the team’s culture. Australians take the position very seriously.
And while they expect the captain to ensure their team play hard, they also expect them to play fair. that’s why this hurts so much. All the Aussie captains of recent years have done their best to impose theirheir stamp on the team.m. When Allan Borderr took over in the 1980s, they were a mediocre side, but he set about making them incredibly tough.
Border was good friends with Graham Gooch from their timee at Essex, but when he captained Australiaa in England in 1989, he walked past Gooch as if he didn’t exist. He was fed up with being a good loser — and Border is now held in the highest regard.
His successor Mark taylor is someone I have a great deal of respect for. He didn’t ease up on what Border did, but turned the Australians into winners. His tactical acumen was second to none. And then came Steve Waugh.
His challenge was to take the team to the next level, which wasn’t easy. So he made a big thing about the culture of the baggy green cap. He made sure his players knew about the history they were buying into, and the fact that they were just passing through. there were times when I found it all a bit much.
I felt as if Waugh was lecturing other sides about how the Australian way was the best, and how they were mentally tougher than everyone else.
I wanted to turn round and say: ‘Hang on, you’re in charge of possibly the best side in history. You’ve got Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waugh, Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath. It has nothing to do with mental toughness!’
Once, Waugh and a couple of his team-mates turned up to Wimbledon wearing their baggy greens (below). I have to say it all felt a bit sickly. But Waugh did the job. His side went on a record run, and raised the bar.
I never had much to do with Ricky Ponting when we were up against each other, but what I do know from working with him in commentary boxes is that he is someone I would want with me in the trenches.
Every Australian captain feels obliged to leave his mark on the team, because that’s what the pubpublicc expect.e And it’s why, I think, Steve Smith’s side havhave taken the route ththey have taken. AAlong with coach Darren Lehmann and vice- captain David War n e r, Smith probably ddecided the Australian iaAustralian side were in danger gedanger of regressing to the time in the mid1980s when they lost more oftoften than they won. So he decided to reinstate some of the snarl, a bit like Border did so successfully.
I don’t have a problem with that, but in Smith’s case it’s all gone too far. they’ve operated in such a bubble that they’ve lost sight of what’s right and wrong.
Previous Australian sides have come close to the line. Border was in charge when Merv Hughes abused everyone, and there were nasty moments with Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.
But those sides didn’t get themselves into a tangle like Smith’s team have. If you gave it back to them and performed well, they would show you respect. It was a two-way thing. that’s been lost under Smith, whose players seem to think the opposition shouldn’t fight back, and believe they are above the law. their public expect better. As captain of Australia, Smith is on a pedestal. His mistake has been to forget that.