Ian Chappell Thinks Smith Is Trying To Undermine Captain Paine By Trying To Set The Field
Mumbai: Former Australian captain Ian Chappell lashed on to Steven Smith and feels Steve Smith is trying to undermine current skipper Tim Paine by trying to set the field in the second Test against Pakistan, which Australia won by an innings and 48 runs on Monday. Smith captained the team before losing the position in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal last year.
While Chappell said the batting mainstay should not be as involved in field placements as he seemed to be on Monday when Australia wrapped the 2-0 series triumph.
“I tell you what I don’t like to see, Steve Smith is moving a few fieldsmen around, Chappell told ‘Macquarie Sports Radio’.
“He did have a chat with Tim Paine, trying to talk Tim Paine into moving a fielder on the off-side, but I’m not sure Tim Paine moved him as far as Steve Smith wanted. Steve Smith started moving him, I hate to see that,” he added.
David Warner’s 335 while batting and Nathan Lyon’s Five for in bowling was the highlight of Australia’s victory at Adelaide Oval.
Chappell said Smith’s conduct amounted to ‘white-anting’ Paine. White-anting is an Australian term to describe an action which seeks to bring down from within. “England used to do it a bit, blokes other than the captain and I always felt it was white-anting the captain,” he said.
While Smith was banned from Australia’s captaincy for two years due to his role in the ball-tampering scandal and will be eligible for the role in April next year. Also former vice-captain David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft were banned in the same scandal.
Earlier in the past as well, the former Aussie skipper had expressed his serious doubts over Smith captaining Australia again in future.
In an interview with Channel 9, Chappell revealed his serious reservations about Smith’s return to the national side. “I think he’ll come back as a player. I’m not sure he’ll be as good a player as he was because confidence is a big part of his game and that’s going to have taken a fair hit,” Chappell said.
“As for the captaincy, I think he’s going to struggle to ever be captain again. “One of the most important things for a captain is to earn the respect of the players, and he’s going to find it hard to recover that ground.”
Smith and Warner have earned back the trust of the fans as Smith’s batting in England and returning of the form of Warner in this test series.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.
