Incredulity was the initial reaction across the country. Watching in Perth was sport psychologist Sandy Gordon, a former consultant to the Australian cricket team, who could scarcely believe his ears: "I was sitting here thinking, 'You did what?' "īancroft attempting to hide the sandpaper he was using. At a press conference on March 24, after the third day of a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town, Smith said that he and Cameron Bancroft, the junior player sitting beside him, had colluded in a plan to tamper with the ball by roughing up the surface, which aids reverse-swing bowling. Two months later, Smith admitted to premeditated cheating. According to the newspaper, Smith deserved the award not just for his prodigious feats on the cricket field but "because he embodies the qualities that define the Australian character at its best". The Australian newspaper named him its Australian of the Year, choosing him for the honour over nominees such as Chrissie Foster, the courageous campaigner for victims of clerical sexual abuse, medical researcher Sally Dunwoodie, who has dedicated her career to helping babies with congenital heart defects, and Kirsty Boden, the nurse who was killed trying to save others during a terrorist attack in London. By January, he was not only the world's number one batsman but Australia's favourite son.
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Last summer, he played as if blessed by the cricket gods, scoring three centuries as he led Australia to a thumping Test series victory over England. The responsibility of the captaincy appeared to inspire Smith. Here was a cricketer everyone could like. He was open-faced, affable, as wholesome as a Weet-Bix ad. From 2014, when he first stepped into the role of Australian captain at the age of 25, he brought youthful enthusiasm and what looked to be ingrained decency to a side long known for surliness and swagger. Which they were, at cricket." But Smith? He seemed to Perry to be different. They carried themselves as though they were better than you. "I played first-grade cricket against a lot of Test players," says Perry, "and I found most of them to be extremely aggressive and hostile. Perry, co-author of the cult comic novel The Grade Cricketer, points out that Smith was a rapidly rising star: "We all knew he was going to play for Australia." Therefore, neither kindness nor courtesy was expected of him. "The end result was both of us sprawled on the ground." Even more of a surprise was what Smith did next: "He apologised quite profusely."
"I remember being startled by how heavy the impact was," says Perry, now 32. Hurtling towards the ball, which has been hit straight down the pitch, he crashes into 21-year-old Sam Perry, the batsman standing at the non-striker's end. But at this moment on a sunny Saturday afternoon in early 2007, his sole focus is on winning a first-grade club match being played in front of a few dozen spectators at North Sydney Oval. He will captain the national men's team, be compared to Don Bradman and earn the admiration of millions of cricket fans around the globe. He is 17 years old and freakishly talented – a sandy-haired, blue-eyed sporting prodigy destined to become one of Australia's greatest cricketers.
Steve Smith is in the air, diving to catch a ball. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size
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