Steve Smith was booed by fans at the Gabba on Sunday night, but the Sydney Sixers star got the last laugh to lead his team into the BBL finals at the expense of the Brisbane Heat. Smith continued his brilliant form with 54 off 40 balls, helping the Sixers win by five wickets.
The Sydney team knocked the Heat out of a finals place and surged to second on the BBL ladder to finish the regular season. During his innings, Smith was in involved in bizarre scenes when he complained to the umpires and Heat players about the crowd.
Steve Smith aired his complaint to the umpire and Usman Khawaja. Image: Getty/Channel 7
The Australian cricket superstar was apparently irked by spectators sitting above the sight screen who were waving their arms in an apparent attempt to distract him. Smith was very animated as he pointed towards the crowd and explained the situation to Heat captain Usman Khawaja.
Smith was loudly booed by the Heat fans as he aired his complaints, which ultimately fell on deaf ears. “This has incited the crowd,” Ricky Ponting said on Channel 7. “They’re all waving their arms above the sight screen there.”
Steve Smith was irked by the actions of Brisbane Heat fans. Image: Channel 7
On Fox Sports, Isa Guha pointed out it’s not the first time we’ve seen Smith get rankled by something distracting him. “We’ve seen this quite a lot in the last couple of months,” Guha said. “He’s not happy with something behind the bowler and the crowd are getting stuck in.”
Brad Haddin added: “He needs to just calm down, take a bit of time – he looks very animated and frustrated here. You don’t want to let this get you out and break your concentration. I’m not quite sure what it was, but whatever has happened has agitated Steve Smith.”
Steve Smith leads Sydney Sixers into BBL finals
Thankfully for Sixers fans he didn’t let it get the better of him. Smith was only on 15 at the time, but managed to add another 39 runs before departing.
His knock put the Sixers in perfect position to chase down the Heat’s total of 9-171, before Sam Curran blasted 53 not out off 27 balls to seal the victory. The Sixers will now face the Scorchers in Perth on Tuesday night for a spot in the BBL final next Sunday night.
The Hobart Hurricanes will then host the Melbourne Stars on Wednesday night in an elimination clash, with the winner facing the loser of the Scorchers-Sixers game to decide the other finalist. The Heat could have taken the Sixers’ spot in the finals with victory on Sunday night, but it wasn’t to be.