Steve Smith’s latest knock a reminder of what could have been for Australia | Geoff Lemon

Thanks to a combination of scandal, the pandemic and a reduced touring programme, Smith has an aura of lost potential

In 2017, Steve Smith began what can now be mapped as his highest batting peak. Three centuries in four Tests while leading a tour of India, a feat no visiting captain has bettered, while holding his team in the series until a final defeat 2-1. Then home for an Ashes series that he opened with a match-winning hundred at Brisbane, followed with a double in Perth, and sealed with a hundred in Sydney, winning 4-0 with 687 runs at an average of over 137. Three months later came the Cape Town sandpaper affair, and his year-long ban ended up being an absence from Test cricket of 16 months.

What has happened since has been the waste of Smith, the squandering by Cricket Australia of their most extraordinary batting talent since Don Bradman.

Continue reading...