‘Fail’: Cricket fans jump the gun over Steve Smith experiment

Cricket fans have once again proven they have zero chill after piling on Steve Smith after first taste of opening in Tests didn’t go to plan.

There’s an old cricket saying that you’re only as good as your last innings — but fans have taken this a little too literally when it comes to Steve Smith’s first innings as an opener.

The 34-year-old made the bold move to shift to the top of the order to replace the retiring David Warner and it feel like cricket fans from around the world were fascinated with how it would play out.

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Some believed it would be a masterstroke and help him return to his best, others waiting for what they believed would be inevitable failure.

Despite facing an understrength West Indies side against who he has averaged 150 over seven Tests, Smith played at a ball he probably shouldn’t have which squared him up after his trigger movement pushed him outside off stump from debutant Shamar Joseph’s first ball in Test cricket.

He was on 12 off 26 balls.

It was a day out for Joseph, who, batting No. 11, scored 36 of the 55-run last wicket partnership alongside Kemar Roach which helped the Windies to 188, as well as also snaring the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne for 10 to finish with figures of 2/18.

It left Australia 2/59 at stumps with Usman Khawaja on 30 and Cameron Green on 6.

It could have been worse for Australia after a fairly straightforward chance from Khawaja was dropped when he was on 3.

The reaction was swift with Brad Haddin saying that Smith “would be disappointed with that”.

“It was definitely a ball he didn’t need to play, could have left it about sixth stump,” Haddin said.

“He was just feeling for it, there was no real result that could have come out of that other than getting caught at slip.”

Shamar Joseph celebrates his first Test wicket. Photo by Izhar KHAN / AFP

Give him time. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images

Kerry O’Keeffe called it a “perfect delivery" to Smith.

“Just left him a little, didn’t want to play,” O’Keeffe said.

But those hoping the experiment would blow up in the Aussie’s faces were quick to rejoice on social media.

One fan tweeted: “The Steve Smith phenomenon is over.”

Another called Smith a “flat track bully”, which is a laughable for a man with an average only dipping under 58 after his latest innings.

Another said it was “another failure in home tests”, while more said the “Steve Smith experiment fails”.

One fan even went so far as to suggest Smith should have been dropped for Cameron Bancroft.

Pat Cummins and team deciding who'd go upto Steve Smith and tell to hell with the experiment and get him back to #4 pic.twitter.com/8Rq8KhEVXa

— Kris (@krisbot) January 17, 2024

But cricket fans need to remember that one innings does not make a career.

Speaking on Fox Sports, commentator Isa Guha played devil’s advocate, asking: “How long are you going with Steve Smith before you start questioning him at the top?”

Without missing a beat, Brett Lee responded: “He’s fine, he’s all good, he’s a quality player.”

“Whether you’re batting three or four, I know you’re facing that brand new ball, but just give him some time,” Lee added.

Steve Smith was more nervous and fidgety than usual. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images

“The one thing about the decision is that Steve Smith wanted to open,” Haddin said. “He has 10,000 first class runs (actually 14,148 in first-class cricket now, 9526 Test runs), he’s been a legend at three and four and he wants a new challenge.

“Speaking to the players, he’s been energised all week.

“And Cameron Green, you just have to look at his stats in first-class cricket, at No. 4 he averages 60, he’s got the game that suits that position. I think it’s a win-win on both sides.”

Much is expected every time Smith goes out to bat — having dominated bowling attacks with his unorthodox approach throughout his career.

Returns in recent years haven’t been as strong, but it’s also compared to his own lofty standards.

In 2022, Smith scored 876 runs at 58.40 with two hundreds — in 2023, he had 929 runs at 42.23 with three tons, including series against India in India, and an Ashes series in England.

At the end of the day, the Smith as an opener experiment may fail — and those hanging out for that will rejoice — but as one of the modern legends of cricket, he deserves time to see if he can make it work.