Steve Smith breaks tradition and FINALLY replaces the shabby baggy green with a new cap after revealing that RATS broke it in Sri Lanka
There was something strange about Steve Smith on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa in Brisbane.
The typical flamboyant leaves off stump are still there, as is the Aussie star’s delicate and sloppy work before taking care.
But when Smith walked into the Gabba, he did so in a brand new Baggy Green.
Steve Smith took to the field in Brisbane wearing the new Baggy Green on Saturday
The former Australian captain limped off in the second Test against the West Indies in Adelaide last week after wearing a Baggy Green that looked on the verge of being torn apart.
Smith later revealed that his cap was badly damaged after being bitten by rats while he was playing in Sri Lanka during the test series in July.
‘I left it overnight in the change room in Galle like I do everywhere else and I came in the next day and the rats had got it, I think,’ he told The Australian.
The 33-year-old isn’t the first Australian to wear his Baggy Green for so long, it’s starting to look worse for wear.
His cap looked worse for wear last week in the Test against the West Indies
Steve Waugh was famously the first player to take to the field with a cap in such extreme conditions, while icons such as Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer had baggy green caps that literally fell off on the final day of their Test careers .
‘I didn’t think of changing it just because it was old. I saw stains, tears, fading and rips as badges of honour, each imperfection telling a story,’ said Waugh.
In the 1990s, Waugh introduced the practice of having former players present a prized cap to debutants, after Mark Taylor created the tradition of marking players’ Test debut for Australia by giving them the Baggy Green .
Ricky Ponting’s famous cap has had to be repaired several times, including when the top fell off, with fresh rips and tears appearing in his last Test 10 years ago.
Smith made 38 in Australia’s first innings before being bowled by Anrich Nortje with 10 minutes left to play on the day.
‘I don’t have a single piece of cricket memorabilia in my house anywhere, but this is obviously a bit more special than the rest of it,’ he said in his final Test.
‘It might need some tweaking or something to do with it. It has been done several times over the years. So let’s see what happens here.’
Smith’s debut of his brand new headgear was a mixed bag.
The former Australia captain took two catches as the hosts skittled South Africa out for 152, dismissing Kyle Verreynne off the bowling of Nathan Lyon and Keshav Maharaj off the bowling of Mitchell Starc.
Mitchell Starc took 3-41 as Australia bowled out South Africa for 152 on Day One in Brisbane
Smith made 38 in Australia’s first innings and shared a 117-run partnership with Travis Head, before being bowled by Anrich Nortje with 10 minutes left to play on the day.
Head hit an unbeaten 78 off just 77 balls as Australia hit 5-145 after falling to 3-27.
Earlier, Starc took 3-41 as Australia stormed through the tourists’ batting line-up on the green track at the Gabba. But the star quick will have to wait to become the seventh Australian to reach 300 Test wickets after starting the match four shy of the milestone.
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