Steve Smith has drawn the ire of umpire Paul Reiffel after taking matters into his own hands when light rain fell on the SCG this morning.
Play was delayed on three occasions for 15 minutes or less, in a period that became farcical, with the covers coming off the pitch almost as soon as they were applied.
On each of those occasions there was no prizes for guessing the most eager player to have play stopped.
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Despite batting well throughout the morning session, and getting to lunch unbeaten on 51, Smith’s reaction when the drizzle started was almost comical as he started to race off before the umpires even had a chance to confer.
On one occasion Smith was inching his way off when the umpires told him he’d have to come back because play wasn’t being stopped.
It led to umpire Reiffel telling Smith: “You can’t just keep running on and off.”
Th commentators for Fox Cricket were baffled by Smith’s clear preference to be off the field at a time when the fielding side is often thought to be more disadvantaged.
“It’s interesting that Steve Smith is the one that keeps wanting to run off,” Mike Hussey said.
“I don’t know why,” Mark Waugh responded. “If you’re a batsman you’d be happy to stay out there.
“The ball can get a little bit damp, it might get a bit softer. You get into a better rhythm for a starter. He’s got plenty of bats, he doesn’t have to worry about the bat getting damp … it looks like he’s in the middle of a snow storm.
“There’s not even enough rain to wet the roses … it’s ridiculous.”
Earlier Smith had drawn the ire of former England captain Michael Vaughan, who said: “What can’t be right though is that Steve Smith’s starting to walk off. I don’t think that’s right that a player could be walking off.”
Vaughan added that the short rain delays were a bad look for cricket, with the ICC’s playing conditions causing unnecessary stoppages.
“There’s not a lot in that, there’s not a lot in it. This is what we’re talking about, if it’s looking really gloomy out the back and it starts, then sure go off,” Vaughan added. “But when it’s like this and it’s only going to be a couple of minutes…
“Now the players go into the dressing room and the umpires will have to come back out and check and they’ll have to go back into the dressing room to tell the captains, it’s just time taken out of the game that doesn’t really need to happen.”
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