"Let's see if he continues to do it in Brisbane if he does it all the time" - Michael Vaughan takes a dig at Steve Smith for scuffing Pant's guard marks
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has taken a dig at Australian batsman Steve Smith, and is looking forward to seeing if the 31-year-old continues scuffing guard marks in Brisbane too.
Steve Smith had received heavy backlash from fans and former players when a video of him allegedly trying to scuff Rishabh Pant's guard marks on Day 5 of the Sydney Test went viral.
While many believed it was cheating, Michael Vaughan came up with a post on his Instagram account, explaining the rules of the game and specifying what counts as changing the nature of the pitch deliberately.
Former Australia batsman Mark Waugh commented on the post by saying that Vaughan was reading too much into the situation. Waugh felt it was more about time-wasting than anything else.
"You've lost your marbles Vaughney. I'd be more worried about deliberate time wasting in the modern game," Waugh wrote.
Australia Test skipper Tim Paine and off-spinner Nathan Lyon had backed Steve Smith and revealed the star batsman was just shadow batting.
Keeping this in mind, Michael Vaughan replied to Waugh's comment and made Steve Smith know that he will be looking closely at the 31-year-old's antics during the drinks break at the Gabba.
"Are you struggling to read Junior ... as I have clearly stated it was silly & not cheating but the laws are the laws ... btw let's see if he continues to do it in Brisbane if he does it all the time," Vaughan replied to Waugh.
Steve Smith's form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Steve Smith has had a roller-coaster of a Border-Gavaskar Trophy this time around. The Aussie star had only scored 10 runs from his first four innings. However, he came back to form in style on his home ground, the SCG, and scored a hundred in the first innings, followed with a half-century in the second.
But the whole 'scuffing up' incident is likely to disturb him. WIll he bounce back and silence his critics yet again? Or will the situation get the better of him at the Gabba? Only time will tell as the fourth Test between the two sides begins from January 15 in Brisbane.