Steve Smith and Joe Burns, both of whom haven’t been in the best of forms of late, were subjects of a cheeky poster troll in Christchurch.
Neither Burns nor Smith have been able to contribute significantly in the ongoing Test series against India. While Burns, barring an unbeaten second innings fifty in Adelaide, struggled against the new ball, Smith registered a series of single digit scores that read 1, 1*, 0, 8. The rare dip in form also saw the latter slump down to No. 3 in the Test batting rankings.
During the ongoing second Test between New Zealand and Pakistan in Christchurch, a fan displayed a poster which mocked Smith and Burns.
Cricket Bats for Sale, Barely Used
Call: S. Smith, J. Burns @Cricket Australia
This is funny 🙈😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/7d1460cCGT
— EEMS (@NaeemahBenjamin) January 4, 2021
Burns, in particular, has been facing the heat for quite sometime now. He managed scores of 4, 0, 0 and 1 in the practice-games in the build-up to the Test series. In the Tests itself, Burns made single-digit scores in three of his four innings across two Tests. He was promptly dropped but the bad form continued in white-ball cricket as well, as he fell for a run in his maiden BBL 2020/21 outing for Brisbane Heat.
Joe Burns’s first-class returns this season:
7
29, 0
10, 11
4, 0
0, 1
8, 51*
0, 4An average of 10.42 in 13 innings. Does he deserve to retain his spot for the next Test?#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/hJhzg7BeDg
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 28, 2020
Steve Smith seeing Joe Burns in the dressing room #AUSvsIND pic.twitter.com/9W2qkrOeVd
— Shaun (@SMancini1989) December 28, 2020
Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Joe Burns in this series.#AUSvIND #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/QciOKlsnb6
— Sridhar_FlashCric (@SridharBhamidi) December 29, 2020
As for Steve Smith, who is hailed by most as the modern-day Bradman, the rare slump in form has come at an inopportune time for a side that is looking to regain the Border – Gavaskar Trophy.
This series
Umesh Yadav
Inns – 3
Runs – 19Steve Smith
Inns – 4
Runs – 10Smith gonna make me regret it later for sure but till then we have the fun 🥳 #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/Nhk8YIaQrJ
— Ragul Ravichandran (@nobodiehere) December 28, 2020
Steve Smith before the ODI series:
I’ve found my hands again.
Steve Smith before the Test series: pic.twitter.com/IvgTWZ8xvf— Abhinav Dhar (@Xanedro) December 29, 2020
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