In cricketing jargon, if a batsman sees it like a beach ball, it means that he finds the game very easy for himself. During the Ashes 2019, this cliché has been used a lot to refer to Steve Smith and his batting during the games. He is now batting on another level with an impeccable form throughout the Ashes. Ever since he returned back to the Tests after a duration of around 16 months, his performance at the pitch has exceeded our expectations.
All that the Australian batsman required was a total of three innings in order to jump from the ICC Test No.4 batsman’s place to ICC Test No.1 batsman. Steve Smith made twin centuries during the first Test match, making his presence be felt strongly. In the following match, he performed brilliantly yet again. Unfortunately, Jofra Archer’s deadly bouncer struck the batsman on the neck. In the game’s first innings, he had scored 92 runs and had to quit the next innings because of his concussion injury. The concussion also prevented him from playing the third Test match, which was a colossal disappointment.
Steve Smith is enjoying each and every moment on the ground
After Steve Smith re-joined the fourth Test, it was as though his concussion episode at the Lord’s games had never taken place. His confidence and self-assurance had come back with him, as did his remarkable batting expertise; he also struck some short balls in the game. Towards the end of Day-1, he was invincible with his 60, adding up his record to a total of 438 runs within four innings. Manchester had a windy day throughout; there was a frenzy all around as things flew into the field.
Furthermore, like we all have witnessed before in the series, the crowd was seen to play with a beach ball. During the 29th over’s fourth ball from of Jofra Archer, the beach ball got drifted away from the stands by these heavy gusts of wind, landing in the centre of the field near Smith as he batted. The batsman decided to have fun with this opportune moment.
As the beach ball got closer to the former Australian skipper, he struck a paddle sweep at the ball. It was a funny sight to watch the winds carry it back to the boundary, leaving the audience lose all inhibitions and cheer loudly for Smith’s cheeky strike.
