Batter Steve Smith became the second Australian batter to be dismissed in the 14th match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Sri Lanka in Lucknow today. Yet to fire in what is his fourth World Cup, Smith put on display another failure to let his team down in the pursuit of a 210-run target.
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Having already lost veteran opening batter David Warner (11) in the same over, the Aussies were in deep trouble after Smith was also found wanting in front of the stumps by Sri Lanka pacer Dilshan Madushanka.
Smith, who didn’t contest the on-field umpire’s decision, was quite convinced of the nanoscopic chances of his survival. Smith, as a result, walked back to the pavilion post a five-ball duck after an archetype in-swinging delivery from the left-arm pacer hit him exactly in front of the stumps. Readers must note that Australia would’ve lost a review had Smith opted for one.
Steve Smith Gets Out On 0 For First Time In ODI World Cup
Smith, whose first World Cup participation had come as a bowling all-rounder 12 years ago, registered his first duck in the history of the tournament. While Smith hadn’t batted twice during ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and once during ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, this is the first-ever instance of him not scoring a run in spite of getting a batting opportunity in a World Cup match.
Smith, who has never really managed to attain the legendary status in white-ball cricket at the highest level, has had decent numbers (as compared to his Test stats) across the format and the World Cup.
In 27 World Cup contests, the right-handed batter has scored 899 runs at an average of 42.80 and a strike rate of 87.87 with the help of one century and eight half-centuries. Since the previous tournament, Smith’s 444 runs have come at an average and strike rate of 34.15 and 83.30 respectively.
Steve Smith Has Been Out For A Duck 18 Times In International Cricket
Batting for the 132nd time in the format, the 34-year old player was out without scoring for the eighth time. Bringing the remaining two formats into contention, this is Smith’s 18th duck in international cricket.
Smith, who would’ve wanted to contribute generously to boost both his and the team’s morale amid a combined lean patch, has got out on zero for the third time in an ODI being played in this country this year.
In what is his fifth ODI duck against Sri Lanka, Smith now has his second-most such instances in this format against this opposition. His eighth duck in India means that he now has these number of ducks both here and at home.
Smith, however, still remains far behind in the list of most ducks registered by Australian cricketers across formats.
