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On June 2, Steve Smith, one of the all-time great Test batters in the making, celebrated his 34th birthday. The wishes for the Australian legend poured in from all sections of the cricketing fraternity, including his fellow teammates. However, his teammates knew exactly how to ruin the former Aussie skipper's birthday as they came up with hilarious ideas.
The Australia men’s cricket team is currently in England, preparing for a long summer of Test cricket coming up. Firstly, they are scheduled to play India in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final from June 7 onwards, at The Oval in London. Shortly afterwards, they will kick off their Ashes campaign against England.
Mitchell Marsh, the Australia all-rounder, talked about the worst birthday gift for Steve Smith and said, “No batting for a week.” It’s because the current world number 3 test batter is renowned for his obsession to bat day in and day out, whether he is representing a cricket team or at home on a break from the sport.
All the other Australian cricketers followed suit with their version of not allowing the 34-year-old to have a bat on his birthday. The captain of the Test team, Pat Cummins was quoted as saying, "Telling him training is cancelled or he is not allowed to bat." Mitchell Starc said, "If he wasn’t allowed to hit balls today," as the worst birthday gift for Steve Smith.
Scott Boland opined, "Probably a day off cricket training," while Matt Renshaw remarked, "No batting for a day," for the New South Welshman on his special day.
The first Test match of the Ashes series will be played between the long-time rivals at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 16. During the Ashes 2019, Steve Smith had a phenomenal series on his return to Aussie colours, smashing 774 runs at an average of 110.54, including five centuries in English conditions.