Tim Paine defends Steve Smith amidst 'cheating' claims, says batsman was 'shadow batting'

On Day 5 of the India vs Australia 3rd Test in Sydney, former Australian captain Steve Smith was accused of resorting to a cheap tactic in their quest to secure a win and take a 2-1 lead in the series. The right-hander was caught on stump camera while intentionally scratching up Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant's guard during the drinks break in the first session. 

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Tim Paine opens up on 'Steve Smith cheating India' claims

The Indian southpaw was taking Australian bowlers to the cleaners and was successfully able to pile the pressure back on them which is why the Australian tried to distract the Indian stumper. Pant had to mark his guard all over again after resuming batting post the drinks break. The video of the same went viral on social media in no time. Fans were left fuming after Smith used what is widely being considered as a cheap trick to put off Pant. 

Now, Australian captain, Tim Paine has opened up on the incident and defended Smith saying that the 31-year old meant nothing malicious to Pant by scraping Pant's guard. While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Paine said that he spoke to Smith about the incident and added that he is extremely disappointed with how it has come across. Explaining Smith's actions, Paine reckoned that if you've watched Smith play Test cricket, that's something he does every single game, five or six times a day.

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Paine further said that Smith is always standing in the batting crease, shadow batting. According to Paine, Smith has got numerous idiosyncrasies and one of them is always marking the centre. Pant assured that Smith was certainly not changing guard and added that if he was then the Indian players would have complained about the same at the time.

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The Australian captain opined that when Smith is in the field, he likes to walk up to where he bats and visualize how he's going to play. Paine stated that a day ago, you could see Smith up there, playing a couple of shots as a left-hander to show Nathan Lyon to where to pitch the ball. Paine reiterated that one of his mannerisms is marking the centre which he does a lot.

He reassured that Smith wasn't by any stretch of the imagination trying to change guard or do anything like that. Paine also said that if people look back at the footage they'll see it happens probably more than once a Test match with him. However, Pant acknowledged that now that there has been a fuss about it, it's something Smith might have to look at because of the perception of it.

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SOURCE: CRICKET.COM.AU