It was a sensational return in Test cricket by former Australian skipper Steve Smith as he smashed a mindboggling century in the opening Ashes Test against England. After getting suspended for his ball-tampering scandal last year, a picture of Smith’s father trying to comfort him went during a press- conference went viral.
However, after his son’s exceptional return, he will be a proud father especially after seeing his son making a grand comeback. After completing a well deserved century, Steve Smith couldn’t hide his emotions and it took atleast a couple of minutes after his century to get back to normalcy. He went onto smash a sensational 144 as he helped Australia recover from 122/8 to a competitive score of 283.
“I think there was probably relief from his point of view, and you share it with him,” Peter Smith told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday.
“He had worked very, very hard to get to that point. That was one thing he did say to me, it was one of the hardest innings he’s had to play. And you could see that in that hundred. And you could see the effect that it was having on him.”
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“For that reason, you sort of go with him and enjoy it as well, but also know what he’s actually going through.
“I must admit, to begin with, I had more trepidation than I probably ever have had, which was strange. Then it all unfolded and it became emotional. It was emotional watching him get his hundred. And I’m still quite a bit emotional about it.”
Father of Steve Smith further stated that he didn’t sleep after his son’s ton and his family has overcome the testing 12 months. “It’s been difficult but you just concentrate on what you can control. You can’t do anything else. There’s no point,” he said.
“You work on what you can control, what you can do to help. Putting balls in the ball machine, things like that. You have to work on that only and that’s what we did. Worked on what we could control.”
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Peter Smith also rated the century as one of the very best of his son. “I think the innings he played in Brisbane at the beginning of the last Ashes was one of his best. But this one, given the context of all that has gone to get to that point now, and he played under a lot of pressure as people fell around him … that probably made it. If it’s not his best, it’s way up there.”
