Steve Smith, an Australian hitter, is currently participating in Wellington’s opening Test matchup with New Zealand.
The cricket authorities ought to take immediate action to solve the problem of pacers bowling bouncers to leg side field, according to Australian star batsman Steve Smith. This is because it limits a batter’s ability to hit the ball “anywhere in front of the wicket.” A bowler should only be permitted one or two deliveries of this kind; after that, he should be warned or the delivery should be declared wide. The former captain of Australia is currently playing the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington.
“When you set that field, I believe there might be a few minor regulation modifications regarding balls coming down the leg side.
“You really can’t hit the ball anywhere in front of the wicket really, and I feel like it is almost like when a (left-arm) spinner comes over the wicket and they get the warning down the leg side and then they start getting ‘wided’,” Smith was reported to have said in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“If it makes sense, the ruling should be comparable to the spinner if you’re bowling balls in that area down leg on a regular basis. In essence, bowl one or two, get a warning, and then be called wide,” he continued.
Australia finished the first day of the Test match with 279/9 thanks to a 31-run opening innings from Smith, who also mentioned that a batter cannot play any sort of stroke if the ball is sliding too much down leg.
It can certainly be difficult to have those catchers (fielders) in place. The only thing I could really hope for is that all of the fielders are there and that if you get too much down leg, there’s really nowhere else you can score. The only modification I could tolerate would be that one,” Smith continued.
Over the years, pace bowlers have discovered a way to slow down the tempo of play and force Smith to hit a hook shot in frustration at one of the fielders.
Neil Wagner, a fast bowler from New Zealand who announced his retirement from Test cricket on Tuesday, was commended by Smith for his accuracy.
“Ultimately it is a good skill what Neil’s been able to do, the way he can get the ball between throat and chest height consistently, not bowl his two (bouncers) for the over and just carry on doing it,” Smith commented.
“It’s a good skill and it can be challenging, particularly for guys that are pullers of the ball.”
