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Former Australia captain Steve Smith is yet to fire with the bat for Sussex ahead of World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-2023 final against India, but he stunned his teammates with a jaw-dropping screamer at second slip against Leicestershire on Day 4 of the County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road, Leicester.
In the 59th over of Leicestershire's second innings while following on, right-arm pacer Henry Crocombe lured Rehan Ahmed into a drive. Ahmed took the bait and edged one to the slip cordon where Smith showed outstanding reflexes to dive to his right and take a one-handed stunner. Crocombe and his teammates rushed towards Smith to congratulate him for the spectacular grab.
Earlier, in Sussex’s first innings, Smith got out after scoring just three runs. Batting at no.4, he got trapped in front of the wickets by South African pacer Wiaan Mulder. The ball missed the inside edge and hit him on the pads.
The match ended in a draw as Rishi Patel and Mulder scored centuries in the second innings followed by Tom Scriven's half-century.
In the first innings, Tom Aslop's unbeaten 182, Pujara's 77 and James Coles' 70-run knock helped Sussex post 430 on the board. Leicestershire batters got starts in the first innings but failed to convert. They got all out for 270 as Aristides Karvelas and FJ Hudson-Prentice took four wickets each. Pujara enforced follow-on but Leicestershire were able to make a comeback.
Smith had joined Sussex for just three matches in an attempt to prepare for WTC final. In two matches, he has registered scores of 30 and 3. Smith will be seen in action again when Sussex take on Glamorgan at County Ground, Hove starting May 18.
However, Smith has had a good record on England soil. He has scored 1,727 runs from 30 innings at an average of 59.55 including six centuries and seven half-centuries. He was on song when Australia last toured England for the iconic Ashes 2019 which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Smith's record against India is impressive as well. He has scored 1,887 runs from 35 innings at an average of 65.06 including eight centuries and five half-centuries.
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