Former England captain Michael Atherton has questioned Steve Smith’s leadership skills and England’s team selection, especially the ouster of Jack Leach, ahead of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval. Smith took over as Australia’s Test captain from Michael Clarke in 2015 and remained in the role until 2018 when he was dropped following the sandpaper scandal in South Africa.
After serving a leadership ban, Smith returned as Pat Cummins’ vice-captain after Tim Paine stepped down due to a texting scandal. But Cummins was dropped from the Adelaide Test hours before the start on Thursday after he was believed to be a close contact of a Covid-19 positive case while dining indoors at a restaurant on Wednesday night. The development meant that Smith had returned as Test captain for Australia for the first time since 2018.
Atherton, however, seems unconvinced of Test skipper Smith. “I think once you have been punished and given your time in any proper society people should get a chance to come again. The only thing I wonder about Steve Smith, is his time as captain. The role is generally ‘he is so self-absorbed that it seems to me as a cricketer, certainly as a batsman, he exists in his own world, this bubble,'” said 53- Sen Test. Years old on cricket.
He said, “I usually think about his role as captain, I don’t mind him being given a chance again, is he the best man for it, that’s another question. I’ve always tried Smith and David Warner, I’ve never fully understood it,” said Atherton, who played 115 Tests for England.
Atherton did not impress further as left-arm spinner Jack Leach was dropped from the playing XI in favorable spin conditions in Adelaide. Leach conceded 102 runs in 13 overs and took a wicket of Marnus Labuschagne in Brisbane.
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“It’s curious no, we are here in Adelaide, the sky is not cloudy, the pitch looks brown and England have five seamers. Last week at the Gabba, the pitch looked green, it was cloudy And it was cloudy and there was some humidity and they went with the spinner.”
“It seems curious and counter-intuitive. I think that’s one of England’s problems at the moment, they turn matters a little bit and they’re always playing a game ahead of themselves rather than the game in front of them. “
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