Code Sports<\/a> is reporting Azam felt \u201cdisrespected\u201d by Smith\u2019s move to knock back the single at the end of the 11th over.<\/p>\nSmith would go on to smash a record 32 runs off that following power surge over after taking the strike for himself.<\/p>\n
But Azam was in no mood to celebrate \u2013 instead refusing to acknowledge Smith\u2019s historic efforts before the star recruit got out next ball he faced.<\/p>\n
Azam smacked the boundary rope on his way off the field in frustration, drawing the ire of an Aussie cricket great.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you\u2019re feeling, you don\u2019t show that,\u201d Mark Waugh said of the boundary rope\/bat contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a good feeling for the team environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waugh was later critical of Azam\u2019s post-match antics.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabar refused to come out and shake hands. He was gone for the night,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know where he was\u2026 it wasn\u2019t a good look.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith breaks BBL record | 00:34<\/p>\n
Former Australian vice-captain Brad Haddin conceded Azam \u201cwasn\u2019t happy\u201d to have played \u201csecond fiddle\u201d to Smith.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve Smith has knocked the run back because he wants to be the one on strike for the power surge,\u201d Haddin said.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Babar) needs to be happy \u2013 that\u2019s a smart tactical move there.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Smith smacked Ryan Hadley for four consecutive sixes to start the surge over, Azam was unmoved.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabar shouldn\u2019t be upset \u2013 it\u2019s Steve Smith\u2019s role,\u201d Haddin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hasn\u2019t moved Babar \u2013 he has not said well done to Steve Smith once! <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he spoke to him (in that surge over).\u201d
Waugh even called Azam a \u201cdecoration\u201d given the one-man role Smith was playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou only need one batsman here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Both Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist also agreed that Azam was in the wrong, crediting Smith for delivering in one of the bigger moments in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn team sport you have to make some decisions sometimes that individuals might not like, but Smith did exactly the right thing when you have made that call and smacked 32 off the over,\u201d Vaughan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the first ball of the next surge over Babar got out and right in front of some young kids learning about sportsmanship and teamwork, he put on that display,\u201d Gilchrist added of Azam hitting the boundary rope with his bat in frustration. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s disappointing. He is a class act Babar Azam and he has been great to have in the tournament this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe is loved the world over, so it is a bit disappointing that came through. But well done Smith, he absolutely nailed the right moment for his team.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sixers v Thunder | BBL Highlights | 14:46<\/p>\n
Speaking after he posted the equal second fastest BBL century, Smith conceded his teammate didn\u2019t agree with his decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure Babar was too happy with me knocking back that single though,\u201d he said after claiming his man of the match honours.<\/p>\n
Former Sixer Steve O\u2019Keefe said the decision to put Smith on strike was the right call.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s (Babar) not a big power hitter \u2013 that was evident when Steve Smith knocked him back in the power surge,\u201d he said on Fox Cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis guy hits the ball better than anyone through the off side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure he looked disappointed\u2026 Steve Smith knocked him back for that single. It\u2019s a selfless thing that Steve was trying to do \u2013 and you know I think he vindicated himself by hitting over 30 runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut clearly Babar not too happy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The drama surrounding cricket star Babar Azam\u2019s on-field BBL blow-up has continued amid reports the Sixers recruit shut…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[139006,221181,167451,221187,107269,20769,221184,33217,43,124540,177939,70385,17055,44,221182,221180,221183,221185,221186,189824,18784,109024,147319,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-419954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-adam-gilchrist","tag-babar-fumes","tag-boundary-rope","tag-boundary-rope-bat-contact","tag-brad-haddin","tag-change-rooms","tag-drama-surrounding","tag-dressing-room","tag-headlines","tag-mark-waugh","tag-match-highlights","tag-match-honours","tag-michael-vaughan","tag-news","tag-post-match-antics","tag-power-hitter","tag-power-surge","tag-power-surge-decision","tag-recruit-shut","tag-ryan-hadley","tag-steven-smith","tag-sydney-thunder","tag-team-environment","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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