Steve Smith’s father opens up on emotion of watching his son’s triumphant return

Steve Smith’s father says he has never before experienced the trepidation and emotion he felt watching his son’s triumphant return to Test cricket.

Steve Smith’s father Peter comforts his son during Smith’s emotional press conference at Sydney Airport last year. Picture: Getty Images

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The father of Test hero Steve Smith has revealed the extraordinary emotional journey that led to one of the greatest hundreds in Ashes history.

Peter Smith admits he had never before experienced the level of trepidation he felt watching his son bat as he did from his Alford’s Point couch on Thursday night.

The iconic image of a shattered Smith being comforted by the strong and loving hand of his father at Sydney airport in the immediate wake of the ball-tampering scandal last year will endure as a powerful moment in Australian sport.

After marking his long-awaited return to Test cricket with a triumphant 144 against England, Smith spoke from Birmingham of his desire to make the people of Australia proud again.

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Steve Smith’s father Peter comforts his son during Smith’s emotional press conference at Sydney Airport last year. Picture: Getty Images

But no one was prouder than the father who knew more than anyone, that it was an innings that spanned not 219 balls, but 494 days.

“I think there was probably relief from his point of view and you share it with him,” Peter Smith told The Saturday Telegraph.

“He had worked very, very hard to get to that point.

“That was one thing he did say to me, it was one of the hardest innings he’s had to play. And you could see that in that hundred. And you could see the effect that it was having on him.

“For that reason you sort of go with him and enjoy it as well, but also know what he’s actually going through.

“I must admit, to begin with, I had more trepidation than I probably ever have had, which was strange.

Steve Smith launches at Edgbaston on Thursday night. Picture: Getty Images

“Then it all unfolded and it became emotional. It was emotional watching him get his hundred. And I’m still quite a bit emotional about it.”

Peter Smith will head to the UK in a few days’ to be at Lord’s for the second Test.

But with the rest of his family, already in England, Smith took in his son’s moment of redemption on his own.

“Yeah, just me,” he said. “And I didn’t get back to sleep after that.”

Bleary-eyed at work on Friday like many around the country, Smith said his family had grown out of the testing 12 months and reflected on the mindset he implored his son to take.

It was simple but sound advice.

Steve Smith celebrates his century at Edgbaston. Picture: AFP

“It’s been difficult but you just concentrate on what you can control. You can’t do anything else. There’s no point,” he said.

“You work on what you can control, what you can do to help. Putting balls in the ball machine, things like that.

“You have to work on that only and that’s what we did. Worked on what we could control.”

Peter Smith has been his son’s backyard partner since he was a small child, helping develop the skills of persistence and concentration that have endured even over 12 months on the sidelines.

Steve Smith, wife Dani and father Peter. Picture: Instagram.

He believes the Edgbaston masterclass may be his son’s best hundred.

“I think the innings he played in Brisbane at the beginning of the last Ashes was one of his best. But this one, given the context of all that has gone to get to that point now, and he played under a lot of pressure as people fell around him … that probably made it. If it’s not his best, it’s way up there.”