Australia batsman Steve Smith on Wednesday said he didn’t pay any heed to the “noise” when he was booed by the crowds following his return to international cricket during the 2019 ICC World Cup.
Smith was banned for a year in 2018 for his role in the ball-tampering scandal during a Test match against South Africa. Back in the fold, Smith wasn’t given a warm welcome when he played the first game of the World Cup against Afghanistan. Discussing that phase with India skipper Virat Kohli in a video posted by BCCI, Smith said he likes to prove people wrong and he did the same by approaching the tournament with a positive mindset
“I just loved the noise, regardless of what people are saying, even if it is negative towards me it’s just noise. Obviously, there was some negative stuff when I first came back but I like to prove people wrong and stay in a positive mindset. I just played and had fun,” Smith said.
Interestingly, it was India skipper Virat Kohli, who had turned towards the stand and gestured at the fans to cheer Smith and not boo him when the two teams locked horns in the showpiece event.
The batsman also revealed how he had changed his stance right in the middle of his knock against England in 2013 and ended up scoring runs.
“They (Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes) were bowling shorter stuff and I was struggling to get out of the way. So I thought I needed to get in a better position to play a pull shot,” said Smith.
“So I thought why don’t I go to middle and leg and just go a bit back and across the stumps and get myself in a good position and I started doing it and when they bowled short I was in a good position to hit it,” he added.
Smith feels a batsman should adapt according to the situation and that is what he did against England in 2013.
“If we play in different conditions we have to adapt accordingly. You cannot play the same everywhere. In that match, everything just clicked in the place, so when they bowled full I was in a good position to defend. I knew where my off stumps was,” said Smith.
Meanwhile, India and Australia are currently gearing up for the four-match Test series. The first Test will get underway on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval and it will be a day-night contest.
