Australia vs South Africa 2016: Shane Warne slams Steve Smith for poor captaincy in the first test
The South African team is on the brink of a memorable Test match win against Australia in Perth . After being dismissed for just 242 runs in the first innings, the Proteas are on the verge of a famous comeback win.
Legendary spinner Shane Warne feels that skipper Steve Smith showed traits of “bad captaincy” on the way he handled their primary spinner, Nathan Lyon. After Australia had been bowled out for just 244 runs in the first innings, the visitors came back stronger than ever and piled on a massive score of 540 runs and Lyon was hardly effective during the entire innings.
Warne feels that Steve Smith should have given Lyon more overs to bowl as the temperatures were on the hotter side and the fast bowlers got drained out in the scorching sun by bowling long spells.
As per the reports of the Sydney Morning Herald, Warne said, "It wasn't like the ball was hopping around corners yesterday, they couldn't take a wicket. I thought it was a bit weird Nathan Lyon didn't bowl one over. He bowled 12 overs on a 37-degree day, and the quicks bowled their hearts out.”
Also read: Commentator's curse strikes David Warner as he's dismissed on 97
The “King of Spin” feels that it’s is very frustrating for a spinner when a captain doesn’t toss you the ball in the first session and tries other bowlers several times. Regarding the matter, the former cricketer said, "When the captain doesn't bowl you in the first session and tries everyone three to four times in their spells, then throws you the ball; as a spinner you're like an afterthought - 'we've tried everyone else, why don't you have a bowl?'"
“To me, it's bad captaincy because you're trying to get the best out of the players. To bowl him for 12 overs; his confidence will be low,” added Warne.
Also read: Indian players who made their debut under John Wright: Where are they now?
Shane Warne is still the second highest wicket taker in the history of Tests with 708 scalps, second only to Sri-Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan’s tally of 800.
The Proteas will get a big boost on winning the first Test in Perth especially without the services of A.B De Villiers. Meanwhile, the South Africans will also miss one of their lethal weapons, Dale Steyn in the remaining matches who is ruled out due to injury.