Australian skipper Steven Smith led a blessed life on the way to securing his 16th Test ton in the first Test against Pakistan at The Gabba, Brisbane. The skipper’s century was the highlight during a very exciting day (and night) of Test cricket that also saw the debut of the pool deck at the stadium.
After having gotten to his 50, Smith played a loose shot to Azhar Ali, nicking one behind to the keeper, only to be gifted a life when Sarfraz Ahmed dropped a sitter behind the stumps. Putting that chance behind him, he soldiered on towards the 90s and looked well on his way to another century.
While batting on 97, he nicked a delivery from Mohammad Amir and the ball was fielded by the keeper behind the stumps. To his astonishment, none of the Pakistani players went up in appeal and he stayed his crease.
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There is plenty that goes on in a batsman’s mind at that stage. ‘To walk or not to walk’ is cricket’s eternal question and there have been players over the years that have voiced their stance on the issue.
On being asked whether he knew he nicked the delivery, captain Smith admitted that he did, telling ABC Radio, “I was very surprised, it was pretty loud, obviously I was on 97, there was a fair bit going on in the crowd. It was pretty loud, but yeah, I did nick it, and no one went up so I wasn't going to walk."
Smith made it pretty clear with his words that he firmly believes that the power must lie with the umpires and the onus does not fall on the batsmen to walk.
At the end of that incident, he shared a light moment with English umpire Ian Gould. "I told 'Gunner' Gould at the end of the over: 'I'm pretty sure I hit that one last over, He replied saying I'm pretty sure you've said that to me before. I reckon it was out here as well. So it's happened before, you take the good with the bad.
While walking was very much a part of the game in the past, with fans even looking down upon players who didn’t walk, in today’s game, with the advent of video technology, there is certainly a fair opportunity afforded to the bowling side to challenge an umpire’s decision if they feel it’s unfair.
Well, alas, in cricket, as in life, you win some and you lose some, and more often that not, things balance each other out.
For Steve Smith, the gods shined upon him, letting him lift his bat to the skies after scoring his 16th century, allowing him to edge ahead of India’s Virat Kohli, who has 15.
