Steve Smith (whose potential greatness it is foolhardy to question - check the stats) was felled at the weekend by a vicious short-pitched delivery from England's new hero Jofra Archer. Smith took his eyes off the ball and copped it on the neck. His collapse was frightening and it has now been confirmed that he will have to miss the upcoming Headingley test. In a gruesome way this is very good news for England.
What are we to make of the species of bowling that can produce such results? We have to live with it I would suggest - sport can be, almost must be, dangerous. I think we also have to acknowledge that an unintended consequence of the safety culture that quite properly promoted the wearing of helmets has been the deleterious effect on batting techniques against the short-pitched ball.
When I blogged about the fist test at Edgbaston I condoned the booing of Smith as humorous albeit probably counter-productive. However there is a world of difference between coarse humour and the booing of a stricken warrior departing the scene of his downfall. Smith has been an egregious cheat, still is a phenomenal cricketer. The two sides of the coin need to be considered together.
So, yes it is cricket and I'm sorry if that sounds glib.
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