The sorry state of Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith's baggy green cap has sparked a debate on social media. The tattered cap has irked many and has been labeled as “disrespect for a national icon”.
Captaining the Aussie side in the second Test of the series against the West Indies, Smith was spotted wearing his baggy green which looked worse for the wear. Having 88 Test feathers to his cap since 2010, Smith's baggy green looked like it was knocked into a cocked hat.
This has led to people on the internet asking if Smith should get a new cap. However, the main reason for wear and tear dates back to Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.
“I left it overnight in the change room in Galle like I do everywhere and turned up next day and rats had got to it I think,” he told The Australian.
“I’m going to try and get it fixed this week, it’s falling apart.”
The baggy green is arguably cricket's most revered symbol and the deference that comes with it means the world to any Australian player who dreamt of representing his country in the Test outfit.
Aussie cricketers used to be provided with a new cap ahead of each tour with no rule for players ruling out the possibility of a replacement. But Australian cricket fostered a culture where the more worn out a cap is, the more senior in stature the player is.
But there were a handful of fans who were critical of Smith's treatment of the iconic symbol.
On Twitter, one fan asked “is the shabby look of Steve Smiths Baggy Green a bad look?” while others labelled it “terrible”, “looks like it’s been chewed by his dog” and “even more putrid than what West Indies have served up in the last 2 tests.” Another said it was “Such disrespect for a national icon”, while another tweeted: “Why accept this defacing of an iconic and treasured garment of national pride? Please do better.”
However, former Matildas captain Melissa Barbieri came to Smith's aid to defend his look.
"If your baggy green doesn’t look like this it’s because it’s sitting on the sidelines… much rather a baggy green that’s been doused in blood sweat & tears" replying on Twitter to a user's objection to the use of the cap.
