"I know what you did last summer"- Kiwi fans troll Steve Smith over the ball-tampering scandal in Boxing Day Test

Steve Smith was a broken man in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal in 2018. Smith, along with opener David Warner and rookie Cameron Bancroft, were handed hefty suspensions after a huge furore and backlash that ensued in the immediate aftermath of that horrific scandal. Smith, like Warner, had held a press conference following their bans, where both of them broke down and cried profusely.

But, as they say, champions never bow down to adversity. After completing the 12-month ban, Steven Smith was on a redemption mode. Not only did he aim to do what he has always done- score runs and truckloads of them- but also earn back the respect and love from the fans, something that he had lost post the ball-tampering scandal.

And, he couldn’t have chosen any better occasion than the Ashes in England. By racking up a gobsmacking 774 runs in 4 Tests at an average of 110, Smith not only helped the Aussies retain the Ashes on English soil, but his performances also went a long way in earning back the respect of the fans.

But, he’ll have to score a few more runs against New Zealand though to earn back the respect from the Kiwi fans, who did not miss a chance to remind the former Australian captain of that Newlands scandal during the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

“I know what you did last summer” placard. Another BlackCaps fan was seen carrying an “I’m Sorry” placard with the now cult image of Smith crying in that press-conference in Cape Town in March 2018.

Steve Smith counters New Zealand’s short-pitch ploy

Smith, however, unperturbed, broke his barren run of not scoring a half-century in the ongoing summer when he brought up his 28th fifty. The right-hander, who was averaging a ridiculous 136  leading into the Test, finished unbeaten at 77 and is looking prime to take that to even greater heights when the match resumes on Day 02.

Steve Smith had been troubled by the short-pitch stuff that the Kiwis employed in Perth but, as he had alluded in the press-conference, the champion batsman was more than up for the challenge as he downplayed the ploy courtesy immaculate pull shots.

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