Australia batsman Steve Smith has come under major scrutiny after a video of him allegedly scuffing Rishabh Pant's guard marks on Day 5 of the third Test against India at Sydney Cricket Ground went viral on Twitter. Smith denied the allegations in an interview to Daily Telegraph on Tuesday and said that he was trying to marking the centre out of habit.
"I have been quite shocked and disappointed by the reaction to this. It's something I do in games to visualise where we are bowling, how the batter is playing our bowlers and then out of habit I always mark centre," Smith said.
As the debate over Smith's actions continue, former England cricketer Michael Vaughan and former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh engaged in a Twitter banter.
It started when Vaughan posted a screenshot of ICC rules and regulations on Instagram with the caption: "The Steve Smith incident has caused great debate ... I saw it as a silly thing for him to be doing but i didn’t have it as cheating ...the laws are above ... #OnOn ... What do we all think ??"
In reply to the post, Waugh tweeted: "You’ve lost your marbles Vaughney. I’d be more worried about deliberate time wasting in the modern game."
{{/usCountry}}In reply to the post, Waugh tweeted: "You’ve lost your marbles Vaughney. I’d be more worried about deliberate time wasting in the modern game."
{{/usCountry}}Vaughan was quick to fire back on Waugh's remarks and wrote: "Are you struggling to read Junior ... as I have clearly stated it was silly & not cheating but the laws are the laws ... btw let’s see if he continues to do it in Brisbane if he does it all the time."
India and Australia will square off in Brisbane Test starting from Saturday with the four-match series levelled at 1-1.