Australia vs West Indies: Steve Smith - The great Australian, constantly embroiled in controversy

His white-ball form in recent times has been up and down – down in T20Is, up in ODIs – but few, if any, would doubt his credentials in the most extended format of the game. 

His recent Test hundred against the West Indies saw him notch up another unique record. He is now level with Sir Don Bradman in terms of Test tons scored – both have 29 triple-figure scores. 

As things stand, there are only three Australians ahead of Steve Smith on the all-time tons list – Matthew Hayden (30), Seve Waugh (32), and Ricky Ponting (41). 

What makes his feat even better is that only Sir Don Bradman himself and Sachin Tendulkar took fewer innings than Steve Smith to get to 29 Test tons.  Sir Don Bradman took 79 innings, whereas Sachin Tendulkar took 148. 

Steve Smith’s run of form against the West Indies is no surprise – he currently averages over 200 against them in Tests! But what makes it even more ominous is that he foreshadowed his run-fests this summer. 

Steve Smith has made a minor tweak to his batting technique, cutting down on his trademark movements and shuffles and reverting to a more orthodox stance. 

At 33, he could still have a lot of runs left in the tank – even if this means potentially giving up a white ball format shortly. 

Yet while Steve Smith’s achievements are undeniable, so is his penchant for getting into controversies throughout his career. 

After all, who can forget his ‘brain fade’ moment during the second Test of a four-match series in India in Bangalore, where he looked to the dressing room to help to decide whether to review his LBW dismissal? 

Or the time he clashed with James Anderson on the field, having recently labelled him ‘one of the biggest sledgers in cricket? 

Let’s not forget when he sprayed the Decision Review System (DRS) in 2016 when a call went against Australia during a Test match VS New Zealand in Christchurch. 

He also questioned the ICC’s appeal process after Kagiso Rabada, who had bumped into Smith after his dismissal, was handed a ban that was later overturned. 

Steve Smith was caught up in a storm during India’s tour to Australia in 2020-21 when he was caught trying to scuff Rishabh Pant’s guard. 

And then there is, of course, his masterpiece – the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in 2018, which led to him losing his captaincy and a massive existential crisis for Australian cricket that saw their pledge to change their culture of cricket. 

It says that fans questioned the call even when Steve Smith was named vice-captain and even captain of the side for a game. 

Steve Smith will, unfortunately, or otherwise, have to live with this image. He will always be a great of the game when he calls it a day. 

But he will also go down as one of cricket’s more controversial characters, whether intentionally or not.