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Australia batting great Steve Smith and former Pakistan captain Babar Azam's smooth and solid partnership was turned into a solid, tense moment during the Sydney Sixers’ BBL match against the Sydney Thunder at the SCG. This was started when Smith refused to take a single so he could stay on strike for the big hits. Babar was clearly upset later after getting out, and his reaction appeared to be linked to that earlier decision. However, Smith later explained that the move was purely tactical and said it worked in the team’s favour, with the Sixers going on to win the match by five wickets.
When Smith refused to take single?
The incident happened in the 11th over, Babar was batting on 47 from 38 balls and tried to take a single after playing out three dot balls from Chris Green. Smith waved him back, making it clear he wanted to keep the strike ahead of the power surge, the BBL’s two-over floating powerplay that can be taken any time after the 10th over. Babar did not look pleased, and the frustration was visible when the two batters met briefly in the middle at the end of the over.
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Why Smith refuse to take single?
Smith backed his decision with his bat. In the first over of the surge, he smashed four sixes in a row off Ryan Hadley, making it the most expensive over in BBL history. On the final ball of that over, Smith finally took a single, allowing Babar to face the next over from Nathan McAndrew. But Babar was dismissed on the very first ball, walking back to the dugout in clear frustration and reacting angrily as he left the field. Smith went on to score a century off just 41 balls and later explained why he made the call to deny Babar the single.
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"We spoke at the ten-over mark, and they [the captain and coach] said take the surge straightaway," Smith told Channel 7. "I was like, 'Nah, give it one over. I want to hit to the short boundary. I don't want to screw up the first over. I'll try to get 30 off that over'. I think we got 32, so it was a good result. Not sure Babar was too happy with me knocking back that single."
Babar was not seen on the field after the match, although it was not confirmed whether he returned later.
Mitchell Starc, who played his first BBL match in 11 years on Friday, said he was unaware of the incident. However, he pointed out that in T20 cricket, batters often prefer certain match-ups, much like bowlers do, depending on the situation.
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