Three glaring questions in Smith’s return to Cape Town as kryptonite laid bare

As Marnus Labuschagne was dreaming about a South African homecoming that has become a nightmare, he was asked about Steve Smith during a chat at the SCG last month.

There was barely a pause from Labuschagne, who was embraced by Smith at training on Sunday amid speculation as to his future with the Australian Test team, before the Queenslander started waxing lyrical about the batting genius.

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“I mean, honestly, I think he’s been the best player for us apart from Don. I think he’s been the greatest ever,” Labuschagne told foxsports.com.au

As one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Smith joined Ricky Ponting and Allan Border as the only Australian to surpass 11,000 Test runs last week in Gqeberha.

His legend is beyond dispute and, as Pat Cummins said on Monday prior to the champion spending 45 minutes in the nets in a fitness Test, his importance to Australian cricket is “huge”.

“He is one of the greatest batters Australia has ever had,” Cummins said of the man who joined Ricky Ponting and Allan Border as the only Australians to surpass 11,000 Test match runs during his stay at the crease in Gqeberha last week.

But if Labuschagne has endured a testing tour of the land of his birth, Smith’s return to South Africa after the “sandpapergate” scandal of eight years ago has also been well below his usual lofty standards.

This tour of South Africa shaped as the ultimate redemption act, the superstar returning to the country where his reputation was tarnished and his career threatened for a final chapter as Australia sought to take down the World Test champions.

The tarnished reputation lies in the eyes of the beholder, of course, for the Proteas were never really overly bothered by what occurred in Cape Town and remain bewildered eight years on by the severity of the sanctions handed down.

But this tour has proven far more bothersome than bountiful for Smith to date leading into the Cape Town Test and there has been little Bradmanesque about his batting so far, though Australia will be hoping for a masterpiece in Newlands.

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Preceding the series opener in Durban the 37-year-old was in a pickle about the state of the nets and then copped a nasty blow to the helmet when bounced by Anrich Nortje during the match.

That saw him thrust into a series of concussion tests but he was able to return to the field for the final day as the Aussies posted a 214-run triumph at Kingsmead Stadium.

Amid the opening innings collapse in Gqeberha, Smith was stricken with a neck injury and while topscoring with 28, he looked in severe discomfort and was ultimately deceived by a straight one from Wiaan Mulder.

After dropping down the order due to the neck issue, the star came to the crease tasked with trying to snare a draw on the final day but instead played a poor shot to a delivery from his nemesis Kagiso Rabada, the man who stoked his ire back in 2018.

In his four innings to date, the 37-year-old has made 83 runs at 20.75 in this series. His mate Marnus, who could be on the outer based on what unfolded at training on Sunday, has 127 runs at 31.75. And Cummins has 86 runs.

There have been highlights. The 11,000 landmark is one. And his slips fielding in Durban was incredible and a contributing factor in the triumph as he set a new world record for catches in Test matches aside from wicketkeepers.

Cummins, for his part, said that the veteran has been in great spirits on the tour, though he did look frustrated in the nets in the latter stages of his stint there on Monday afternoon.

“That knock in the first Test, I think it knocked him around for a couple of hours, but then straight away next morning he was back to his normal self,” the Australian captain said.

“I don’t really want to speak for him because, you know, it’s probably only he that can answer that, but from all my conversations he’s been great, he’s been super invested in what’s going on and very helpful for me out there in the middle. so he’s been good.”

But the questions are swirling about Smith, who raised questions as to how much longer he was prepared to play in an interview preceding the South African tour, as the superstar prepares for his Newlands return.

Have the South Africans sussed out Smith?

Just as the Australians identified this series as a major goal after the loss to the Proteas in the World Test Championship decider at Lord’s last June, Smith arrived in South Africa chasing big runs.

It remains a curiosity of his career that his record in South Africa is inferior to any other country he has toured aside from Bangladesh, where he played only two Test matches.

In eight Test matches in South Africa, the superstar is averaging 35.28, 20 runs inferior to his overall average, with only one of his 37 centuries secured in the land of the rainbow nation.

And his overall record in 15 Tests against the Proteas is also inferior to any other country he has played against aside from Bangladesh, with the Aussie champion scoring only two centuries while averaging 40.

The quality of cricket is indisputably one factor, for the series between the two nations are generally tough and uncompromising. The Proteas attacks have also been outstanding during Smith’s tenure as arguably the world’s best batsman.

But might there be another factor at play as well? Have the South Africans learnt to ignore the mannerisms and eccentricities of the champion at the crease and focus on the goal? To look through the smoke and mirrors that prove a sideshow?

Former South African champion AB de Villiers and current star Marco Jansen have both touched on the Smithisms when discussing how best to handle the Aussie star.

De Villiers has great respect for “Smudger” but said his gesticulations when he was at the crease used to drive him mad when standing in the field.

“He’s tough to play against when he gets in. It’s a real grind out there,” de Villiers told the Keepin’ It Cricket podcast last month.

“He’s probably one of the most irritating batters I’ve ever played against with his mannerisms and the way he calls out loud. I hated that.

“I mean, I don’t mind playing against a player against 100, but with all the side shows that he puts out there and I have respect for that. I’m not having a go at him and I actually love that because he’s found a way to be successful. Joe Root is another example of that. He has incredibly irritating mannerisms.

“There is just a player who works on your nerves and Joe Root and Steve Smith are at the top of my list for that.”

Jansen, who was brilliant with the bat at St George’s Park and then ripped through the Aussies in the first innings, said that he struggled to cope with Smith’s gamesmanship when he first toured Australia in his early 20s.

But he has since realised it is all part of the Smith and, to an extent, Labuschagne show and he has learned to maintain his focus and not get distracted when bowling to the Aussie veteran.

“Let me tell you a bit of a backstory. The first time when I went to Australia, my first tour in Australia and playing them the first time, I didn’t know what to expect,” Jansen said in Gqeberha.

“So like their nuances and how they did things, like it can get under your skin. Where it’s sort of like now watching them on TV, looking at the way they go about their business, it’s a fun way of playing a game within a game, if that makes sense.

“It’s not like a mental thing, but some of it is funny sometimes when they bat together. The ‘Wait. No. Oh. Sorry. No. Maybe. Ah.’ It’s about keeping your head in the game within the game, that sort of thing, and it is quite tricky and you can get distracted.”

How will Smith be received in Cape Town?

The champion has received the slight touch so far from South African fans, which is not necessarily a surprise based on the assessments preceding his arrival for the tour.

Australia’s white ball captain Mitch Marsh, who featured in the infamous Tour, suspected that the passage of time meant that the hostilities would have tempered out due to the time lag between the visits from the Baggy Greens.

“I think we’ve sort of all moved on from there, from that time,” Marsh told foxsports.com.au

“There were some great lessons learnt, but we’ve certainly moved on.”

De Villiers, too, suspected that the former Australian captain would be treated fairly despite the furore that unfolded during the particularly spicy series eight years ago.

“I think Smudger is highly respected in South Africa, even with whatever happened there in 2018,” he told Keepin’ It Cricket.

“The way he dealt with it all - I mean, there was an unfortunate event that took place there, but it was interesting to see how it unfolded the week or two after and the way Steve dealt with it compared to some of the others.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for him, and he obviously made a mistake there in that Test series, but I don’t think the reception he’s going to receive here will be too bad (though). I think he will be reminded of it (but) I think the reception for him will be alright.”

So far that has proven the case. When he walked out to bat for the first time in this series in Durban, only one fan could be spotted trying to stir up trouble, but the crowds for the first Test were disappointing.

In Gqeberha it was fairly similar. Code Sports spoke to a couple of fans carrying around sandpaper and a cricket ball, but they attributed their actions to Nathan Lyon’s jibe about how quiet it had been during the first Test.

There will be a difference at Newlands, where the hostilities reached breaking point back in 2018, with reports the first three days are almost sold out.

It is said that the fans on the western cape have been waiting for a long time to have a crack and it will be fascinating to see what unfolds.

But if they take their lead from those who featured in the series, it may well prove that while there is a taunt or three, the attention will return to the cricket.

In a chat with The Follow On podcast last month, former South African captain Dean Elgar said he remained saddened by the hefty bans handed out to Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft and lamented that it took the shine off what had been a cracking series of cricket.

Faf du Plessis, who was South Africa’s captain in 2018, told CricInfo this week that he wrote the deposed Australian skipper soon after he had been suspended to tell him that he had done nothing wrong.

The Protea said he had always appreciated Smith standing up for him during an Australian tour in 2016 when he was accused of tampering and felt sickened by the treatment his counterpart received back in Australia.

“Steve came out at the end of the day [in Cape Town in 2018] saying: ‘I take responsibility.’ And we were like: ‘Why are you taking responsibility? You did nothing wrong,’” du Plessis told the podcast Cricketers on Cricketers.

“And then everything just exploded in terms of the media and how he was being put under pressure. Straight away, I was like: this is not his doing. This is the same thing (as my ball-tampering charge).

“I remember sending a message and saying: ‘Listen, I’m so sorry you are going through this. Just be strong. It’s going to be a hell for a week or so and then it will probably blow over.‘ Never knowing that it was going to be a year for him to go through. But just saying… ‘We’re behind you. We understand you did nothing wrong. So if you need anything from us, we’re here.’”

Is Smith actually fit?

Even if the Cape Town crowd is baying for Smith’s blood, Australia’s vice-captain Travis Head has no doubt the champion will be prepared for whatever occurs and it is clear the Aussies are in desperate need of his superstar touch.

It is notable that when discussing the infamous series in a chat with Code Sports, Smith said he had blocked out much of what unfolded back in 2018.

But if there are recurring memories, being back in the city for an extended period is sure to have them lingering in the back of his mind.

“He will be fine. He showed that in ‘19 in England,” Head said.

“It will be nice to have a crowd. I’m hearing good things about Cape Town, so a good atmosphere is always good.

“We support him. I think he has been through a lot in that space (and) I think he will handle it well. Sometimes it brings the best out of him, as we’ve seen in the past.

“I know he’s been in the wars. He’ll rest up in the next few days and I think he will be fine.”

What has been surprising so far is how little Smith has batted in the nets leading into this Test, despite the fact he has gradually reduced his workload in recent years.

The champion exercised the right to opt out of an optional session on Saturday and then skipped a centre nets session on Sunday, though he did face about 20 minutes of throw downs in the nets from batting coach Michael de Venuto.

Smith then walked laps with a couple of others including wicketkeeper Alex Carey, with the trio chatting while mucking around with a Sherrin during the main session.

The word from the camp is that Smith was on “light duties”, which matches Head’s assessment a couple of days ago.

But Carey, the Australian wicketkeeper, has no doubt the No.4 is fit to fire.

“Steve’s going well. He’ll start prepping for Tuesday today. He’ll have a hit. I think he’s 100 per cent fine,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Steve get out there and play and hopefully score the big runs we have seen from him. We have seen him get a couple of starts - he was impacted a little with his neck - but he is ready to go.”

In the session in the nets on Monday, Smith looked hindered at times and spent time tilting his head back towards his neck, but he returned for another short stint which ended abruptly, with the Aussie looking frustrated after getting bowled.

“Again, hopefully it all goes well and he’ll be there (on Tuesday). But we just want to wait for that last piece of the puzzle,” Cummins said.