Australian batter Steve Smith created many records at the Lord's on Day 2 after he hit a brilliant century. But by the end of the day, he was also accused of cheating by fans on social media!
Smith took a catch off a shot from former England captain Joe Root. Many believed that the ball was touching the ground but Root was given out. This prompted all to start calling Smith a cheater, similar to the uproar that the Shubman Gill catch created when it was caught by Cameron Green in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
On Day 2 of the Lord's Test, Steve Smith scored an impressive 110 runs but his wicket eventually fell at the hand of Josh Tongue. He led Australia to a score of 416 runs while batting first. In response, when Joe Root came to bat and was immediately given a lifeline as one of his catches was caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey but the ball was a no-ball.
But his luck was short-lived.
Mitchell Starc came in to bowl in the 46th over as Root played a pull shot on the third short ball. But the ball went straight to Smith, who was standing at square leg, and he took a diving catch.
The umpire got suspicious and the third umpire looked at the replays, where it looked like the ball was touching the ground from his hand. But still, Root was given out. After this catch, England fans have been accusing Steve Smith of cheating. Root had to return to the pavilion after scoring just 10 runs.
This was much like the catch of Cameron Green in the final of the WTC earlier in June 2023. In the previous incident, Shubman Gill was given out as the Indian fans expressed their displeasure. Australia's Green was caught off Gill's shot and the ball seemed to be touching the ground. Despite this, everyone was surprised when Gill was given out. After this, fans raised slogans of cheater, cheater against the all-rounder Green as well.
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