Harmison also said that he couldn’t see anyone’s opinion changing on Smith, Bancroft, or Warner “because they’ve tarnished the game”.
Australia's Steve Smith celebrates his half century on the first day of the fourth Ashes cricket Test match between England and Australia at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England on September 4, 2019. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Former England pacer Steve Harmison believes Australian batsman Steve Smith will always be remembered as a “cheat”, no matter what.
Smith was last year handed a one-year suspension by Cricket Australia for his involvement in the Sandpaper Gate incident, which also saw Cameron Bancroft and David Warner getting banned for nine months and one year, respectively.
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Though Smith came back strongly to be in the form of his life in the ongoing Ashes, he has received harsh treatment from the English crowd throughout the tournament.
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Smith has hit three centuries so far in Ashes 2019 helping Australia take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series. The 30-year-old right-hander has amassed a total of 671 runs in five innings so far, nearly the double of what the second-best has in eight innings (Ben Stokes, 354 runs).
“I don’t think you can forgive him,” Harmison told talkSPORT.
“When you’re known as a cheat — and he is, I’m not going to sugar-coat it, the three guys cheated — that’s on your CV. You’re marked and you take it to your grave,” he said.
“Whatever Steve Smith does, he’ll always be remembered for what happened in South Africa,” Harmison, said adding, “That’s something he’s got to live with”.
Meanwhile, the 40-year-old also said that he couldn’t see anyone’s opinion changing on Smith, Bancroft, or Warner “because they’ve tarnished the game”.
Smith recently took over the No. 1 ranking from Virat Kohli and has been applauded across the cricket fraternity for his heroics in the ongoing Ashes series.
(With inputs from IANS)
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