It is well known that Steve Smith, one of the most dangerous batters currently, was introduced to the world as a leg-spin all-rounder during the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in 2008.
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Though his bowling has waned of late, his memorable spell of 3-20 against West Indies in the T20 World Cup in 2010, which helped him grab the Player of the Match award, wouldn’t be forgotten easily.
Quality all-rounders are a rare breed in modern-day cricket due to the hectic schedule, fitness levels and high-intense games that invariably take a toll on the body as the years roll by. In order to extend their playing years, batters such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have shied away from bowling for the Men in Blue while Smith gave up bowling almost entirely (though he did bowl an over against New Zealand in Sydney last March) to focus on his batting and seal a spot as a special batsman in the Australian set-up.
While the former skipper’s batting has got its due praise, he could have made for more than a handy bowler too, if his spell against Windies in the T20 World Cup eleven years ago is anything to go by. Opting to bat first in Gros Islet, the home team looked well set for a competitive score in a crucial game as they reached 40 for 2 at the end of the powerplay overs, with Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo at the crease.
The entry of Smith was the turning point though as the player extracted big turn and struck in his second over with the wicket of Narsingh Deonarine, who was dismissed for a duck while going for a glory shot. Bowling all his four overs on the trot, Smith mixed up the pace and the length of his deliveries, which made run-scoring tough.
He picked up two wickets in his last over of the spell that began with one that turned outside off, which Kieron Pollard just about managed to cut away. However, he was unable to see off the third ball of the over as the ball turned past the bat of the batsman, who tried to get forward and smash it towards leg. Smith was on a hat-trick as he dismissed Daren Sammy for a golden duck with a tossed-up delivery on leg that turned back towards the off-stump.
West Indies were unable to recover from his spell as they crumbled to 105 all out to bow out of the competition.
Smith eventually ended with 3 for 20 in his four overs – his best spell in T20I cricket – that has helped him maintain a bowling average of 22.17 with a strike rate of 17.10 in the format!
Watch the spell here:
