A batting genius whose career was rocked by the Sandpapergate scandal in 2018. His tearful press conference became one of cricket's most emotional moments.
27 incidents documented
Australia vs India
22 November 2024
Jasprit Bumrah's astonishing 6-wicket haul at the Optus Stadium rendered Steve Smith and Australia's batting helpless, setting up one of the most emphatic Indian Test victories in Australia.
England vs Australia
31 July 2023
Stuart Broad, in his final Test, cheekily counted down to Steve Smith's supposedly final Test innings, winding up the Australian.
India vs Australia
2023-10-08
Jasprit Bumrah's specific plan to disrupt Steve Smith with back-of-a-length deliveries outside off stump and targeted yorkers throughout the 2023 World Cup — including the final at Ahmedabad — produced one of the tournament's defining individual bowling-batting contests.
ICC / Various Nations
1 January 2020
The ICC's proposal to reduce Test matches from five days to four sparked fierce opposition from players and purists who argued it would fundamentally alter cricket's oldest format.
England vs Australia
14-18 August 2019
Marnus Labuschagne replaced Steve Smith as cricket's first concussion substitute after Smith was hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer. England questioned whether it was a like-for-like replacement.
England vs Australia
17 August 2019
Jofra Archer's fierce bouncer struck Steve Smith on the neck, felling him and forcing him out of the next Test with delayed concussion symptoms.
England vs Australia
2019-08-14
Jofra Archer's bouncer that struck Steve Smith on the neck at Lord's in 2019 exposed both the danger and drama of fast bowling — Smith retired hurt, was concussed, missed the third Test, and returned to score twin hundreds, making it one of the Ashes' most emotional storylines.
West Indies vs Australia
2019-07-03
Jason Holder's innovative around-the-wicket plan against Steve Smith — bowling into the rough outside leg stump — provided one of the 2019 series' most sophisticated bowling strategies against cricket's most technically gifted batsman, forcing Smith into specific defensive decisions he found unfamiliar.
ICC vs Player Welfare
2019-08-01
The concussion substitute rule — allowing a like-for-like replacement for a player diagnosed with concussion — was formalised in international cricket in 2019 and immediately triggered controversy when it was used in the same Ashes Test where Steve Smith was struck by Jofra Archer.
South Africa vs Various
24 March 2018
Kagiso Rabada accumulated demerit points for aggressive celebrations and physical contact with batsmen after dismissals, nearly missing key matches.
Australia vs South Africa
3 March 2018
The Warner-de Kock feud set the toxic tone for the entire 2018 Australia-South Africa series that culminated in the Sandpapergate scandal.
Australia vs South Africa
24 March 2018
Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the third Test at Cape Town, in a plan hatched by David Warner and known to captain Steve Smith, leading to unprecedented bans.
Australia vs South Africa
24 March 2018
Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the Cape Town Test, leading to bans for Bancroft, captain Steve Smith, and vice-captain David Warner in the most damaging scandal in Australian cricket history.
ICC vs Ball Maintenance
2018-03-24
The Sandpaper Gate scandal — where Australia used sandpaper to illegally alter the ball in Cape Town — triggered the most significant tightening of ball-tampering laws in cricket history, including dramatically increased suspensions and a formal distinction between accidental and premeditated tampering.
Pakistan vs Australia
20 March 2015
Wahab Riaz bowled a fearsome spell of fast bowling to Shane Watson in the World Cup quarter-final, hitting him multiple times and sledging aggressively.
Australia vs New Zealand
2015-03-29
Australia beat New Zealand by 7 wickets in the 2015 World Cup Final at the MCG — captain Michael Clarke's farewell tournament — winning their fifth World Cup title and becoming the first team to win the tournament on home soil.
South Africa vs Australia
2009-01-04
South Africa needed 72 more runs to save the first Test when Graeme Smith — their captain — came to the crease with a broken left hand, batting one-handed to guide South Africa to a draw over the final 56 balls.
Australia vs South Africa
16 December 2008
Graeme Smith was given not out LBW by umpire Steve Davis in Perth when the ball was clearly hitting middle stump. Smith scored 108 and South Africa won the match and the series 2-1 — Australia's first home series defeat in 16 years.
Australia vs South Africa
16 December 2008
Graeme Smith was given not out LBW by umpire Steve Davis when replays showed all three stumps being hit. Smith scored 108 and South Africa won the series 2-1 — Australia's first home series defeat in 16 years.
Australia vs South Africa
2006-11-05
Brett Lee's pace and Warne's spin working in tandem against Graeme Smith during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy produced one of the great bowling partnerships targeting a specific batsman — Lee softening Smith with pace before Warne introduced himself with attacking left-arm variations.
South Africa vs Australia
2006-03-12
Australia scored a world-record 434/4 in an ODI and thought they'd won — then South Africa chased it down with 438/9, producing the greatest and most absurd ODI ever.
Sri Lanka vs South Africa
2006-07-27
Mahela Jayawardene (374) and Kumar Sangakkara (287) added 624 runs for the 3rd wicket — the highest partnership in Test cricket history — as Sri Lanka piled up 756/5 declared and skipped to an innings victory.
Sri Lanka vs South Africa
2006-07-31
Mahela Jayawardene batted for 752 minutes to score 374 against South Africa — the second-highest individual score in Test history, one run short of Brian Lara's record, as part of the 624-run partnership that broke the Test partnership record with Sangakkara.
England vs South Africa
26 July 2004
South Africa were accused of ball tampering during the third Test against England at The Oval in 2004, with the ball being replaced by umpires.
West Indies vs England
1994-04-01
Curtly Ambrose produced one of cricket's most sustained bowling spells — taking 7 English wickets for just 1 run in 32 balls, reducing England from 40/1 to 46 all out as he became virtually unplayable on a lively Queen's Park Oval pitch.
Australia vs Various
1993-01-01
Merv Hughes, the moustachioed Australian fast bowler, was famous for his creative and hilarious sledging that often left batsmen and teammates in stitches.
Australia vs Various
28 December 1991
Merv Hughes was legendary for his creative and often hilarious sledging, engaging in memorable verbal battles with Javed Miandad, Viv Richards, and many others.