Culture

Everything You Need To Know About Australia’s Sweary Cricket Beef With India

It's just not cricket.

by Jackson Barron  28 March 2017

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It’s been an eventful tour in India for Australian cricket legend Steve Smith.

The Aussie skipper has seemingly forgotten about his enlightening meeting with the Dalai Lama earlier this week and retreated back to the classic Australian pastime of losing your marbles in the sporting arena. After rubbing noses with His Holiness, quizzing him on the key to a good night’s sleep and realising that cricket is merely “just a game”, Smith called his Indian opponent Murali Vijay a “fucking cheat” after claiming a catch in the slips against Josh Hazlewood in Australia’s second innings yesterday.

Hazlewood edged the ball to Vijay off the bowling of Ravi Ashwin, but the video replay suggested the ball was grounded in his attempt, therefore overturning the decision. Basically, he thought he caught it, but he didn’t. It bounced, so Hazlewood wasn’t out.

Steve was Not Happy that Vijay thought otherwise.

This was not the only controversy in the tumultuous series.

Smith teamed up with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade early on in yesterday’s match, to word up Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at the crease too. Taking aim at Jadeja’s selfie-heavy Instagram account and lack of experience outside of his home country, Wade hit a nerve saying “how come you don’t get picked outside India? Why is that?” Smith followed up with a swift “you don’t deserve to play anywhere but here because you’re useless.”

Despite copping a mouthful from behind the stumps, Jadeja went on to score a vital 63 runs for India which put his side back in the match.

The tension between the two sides this series has been extreme to say the least. The Aussies’ tour of the sub-continent was always going to be a dramatic affair, with the world’s top two squads battling for supremacy in the test arena. But the cricketing prowess of both sides has been overshadowed by some serious cat and mouse play on and off the field.

Smith has been at the centre of much of the chatter, including his self-confessed “brain fade” in the second test after peering up to the players’ box for coaching guidance amid an LBW decision, which is like, cheating. This prompted rival captain Virat Kohli to charge up the crease to the umpires in dispute.

Kohli hasn’t been without his own demons this series, with a lacklustre batting effort sliding him down the ICC batting rankings, and a shoulder injury forcing him out of the final test match. Smith was accused of poor sportsmanship by Indian veteran VVS Laxman, after allegedly mocking Kohli’s injury in the field, which is just not cricket.

After an Australian second innings collapse, India reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy today, with an eight-wicket victory in the final test, extending Australia’s winning drought in India to 13 years.