‘Worst feeling imaginable’ brings Steve Smith to his knees

Steve Smith has hit some form ahead of a busy summer of cricket but a successive balls have left every male cricket fan cringing.

The NSW Blues have crushed Victoria by 140-run in a match that saw Steve Smith finally hit some form.

After NSW copped a 141-run belting with Smith offering just 3 and 0 in a rare Sheffield Shield performance earlier in the week, the side bounced back in the One-Day Cup match at Junction Oval.

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Man of the match Matthew Gilkes blasted 74 off 42 balls, while Nic Maddison’s 63 off 64 and Smith’s 53-ball 56 helped NSW to 8/336 in a match reduced to 45 overs each due to wet weather as Peter Siddle took 5/49.

Other than Matt Short’s 58-ball 80, Victoria never put up a fight losing regular wickets to be all out for 196 off just 34.2 overs with debutant NSW quick Charlie Anderson impressing with 3/37.

But while Smith finally started to find the middle of his bat with four fours and two sixes in his innings, he also found another, more uncomfortable middle that brought him to his knees twice in successive balls in his innings.

Having brought up his 50 in the previous over, Smith faced up to former Aussie quick Peter Siddle at the start of the 28th over when the first ball push him back, but kept low, hitting him in the, shall we say, middle stump.

“Smith was stuck midships, let’s say,” commentator Bruce Eva said amid laughter from the commentary box.

Ball 28.1. Photo: Fox Sports

Smith Smith was brought to his knees. Photo: Fox Sports

Have a breather Smudge. Photo: Fox Sports

Fellow commentator and two-Test player Rob Quiney added: “It’s always funny when it’s not you.”

Glenn Maxwell, who was also playing in the match for Victoria, came over to see if Smith was alright, but also couldn’t help himself, heard laughing over the microphones.

Eva added: “It gets worse before it gets better.”

The painful blow saw Smith slump to his knees before rolling onto his back.

The doctor even came out on the field, but Smith tried to send him away.

“He’s in a fair bit of discomfort right now,” Quiney said.

“It’s dropped him,” Eva added. “At any level of cricket, from park cricket to international cricket, every other player on the ground finds it amusing but it’s about the worst feeling imaginable.”

Quiney added that the blow can often come with a “10 second delay” before the impact is truly felt.

But it wasn’t long before Smith was ready, when the next ball was a near copy, but luckily hitting just a bit higher.

“He’s hit him again,” Eva said.

“What’s he doing?” Quiney laughed. “We couldn’t go three in a row could we?”

Ball 28.2. Photo: Fox Sports

Glenn Maxwell saw the funny side. Photo: Fox Sports

Luckily for Smith, the next ball was a single punched through point for him to get the safety of the other end.

But Siddle’s next over saw the end of Smith as he was given LBW as he tried to whip it through mid-wicket.

Again Smith was unhappy with the decision, after his reaction during the Sheffield Shield match drew the ire of former AFL star Kane Cornes, who labelled Smith “the most self-absorbed Australian athlete that we have” over his reactions to his dismissals.

While there was some reaction on social media over his reaction to his dismissal, it’s a much needed score for Smith, who was looking for a decent hit out ahead of three ODIs and T20Is against Pakistan and the summer’s five-Test series against India.

He’ll just want to make sure he sticks with the middle of the bat from now on.

Originally published as ‘Worst feeling imaginable’ brings Steve Smith to his knees