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After hosts West Indies made a statement of intent by beating South Africa in the tri-series opener, they now have to take on the top-ranked ODI side, Australia

The Preview by Firdose Moonda04-Jun-2016Match factsSunday, June 5, 2016
Start time: 1300 local (1700 GMT)Big pictureThere are three teams in this triangular series after all. Hosts West Indies made a statement, showing they are not just there to make up the numbers, with a victory over South Africa in their opener. Now they have to take on the bigger boys.Australia saunter into this series as the top-ranked ODI side laden with superstars, many of whom are returning from injury. Mitchell Starc headlines the list, having recovered from an ankle injury that kept him out of the game for six months. Captain Steven Smith (wrist), Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh (both side strain), all pulled out of the IPL with niggles but traveled to the Caribbean for this event.Australia could have opted to leave some of them out, as South Africa have done with Dale Steyn and West Indies with Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy, but Australians don’t do things in half measures. Even though this series may not be top priority for a team that has a busy few months, they’re taking it seriously and remain the favourites to walk away winners.For West Indies, who already have points on the board, sustaining momentum will be their aim. They had not played ODI cricket since November 2015 before their win over South Africa and are still finding their rhythm in the format. At Providence, that rhythm needs to be slow and calculating, something West Indies are not always known for, but which they will need to keep doing.Form guideWest Indies WLLLL (last five completed games most recent first)
Australia LWLLWIn the spotlightWhile West Indies’ spinners impressed in their opening match, their seamers Carlos Brathwaite, Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder put in strong supporting roles to keep South Africa quiet. Their modus operandi was pace off the ball, cutters and cross-seam deliveries in the middle and latter parts of the innings but they will want to start better to keep Australia’s aggressive top order in check.All eyes will be on Starc, who could become the fastest man to 100 wickets. He needs ten more scalps in, at most, six matches to ensure he gets to the landmark before Saqlain Mushtaq, who achieved it in 53 games. But before he thinks about that, Starc will be anxious to show he is fully fit and game-ready. He has not played cricket since the inaugural day-night Test in November 2015 and will use this series to ease his way back in.Team newsAfter their win over South Africa, West Indies are unlikely to make any changes for the second match, in the same conditions.West Indies: 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Sulieman BennStarc’s expected comeback is the main talking point in Australia’s team selection but there are also a few other names to look out for. Like South Africa and West Indies, Australia are likely to field two specialist spinners with Adam Zampa joining Nathan Lyon in the XI. Smith said Australia would wait for a pitch inspection before the game before deciding whether to field two spinners or three pacers, with Scott Boland likely to be picked in case of the latter.Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan LyonPitch and conditionsOn the evidence of the first match, the Providence pitch does not allow for free-flowing stokeplay. It is a slow surface which supports spin and batsmen have to work hard for their runs. As has been the case throughout the week, rain is expected in the morning, with the weather drying out later on.Stats and trivia Australia have won four of their last five tri-series, which also included West Indies. Pakistan won the other one. Ramdin needs 66 more to reach 2000 ODI runsQuotes”I like the way the guys held the nerve. They were very composed. On this pitch, you need to spend a little time batting. We made it a little difficult for ourselves. In the next game we need to tighten up, focus on the strike rotation and then we will be much better off.”
“I think for this wicket we’ve got a good mix; guys who can penetrate the wicket quite hard and hit good areas, a couple of spinners and guys who can bowl a lot of cutters, which are going to work well on that wicket. So I think we’ve got the balance right for the first game.”

Arsenal's signing of Ben White was widely criticised back in 2021 after the centre-back struggled in his first few performances, but his displays this season in the Gunners' title challenge have seen him prove everyone wrong.

How much is Ben White worth now?

Mikel Arteta's side announced the signing of White from Brighton in July 2021, with the former Leeds United loanee joining in a deal worth £50m.

He was criticised by Sky Sports pundits, notably Gary Neville, after a difficult debut for the defender in the 2-0 defeat against newly-promoted Brentford in the opening game of the Premier League's 2021/22 campaign, but he is now a hugely important player in this extremely impressive Arsenal side.

Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor was another who was less than impressed with White's performances last season, despite the 25-year-old averaging a solid 6.78 rating from WhoScored across his 32 appearances in the top flight.

He told Football Insider: “Arsenal’s defence is nowhere near good enough to get top-four. For me, Ben White is very overrated, I watched him against Newcastle towards the end of the season and he was absolutely dreadful.

“He lacks pace, he lacks aggression. Yes, he’s good on the ball but he’s not a defensive midfielder, he’s a centre-half."

While the pundit was wrong about White's overall ability and Arsenal's defensive capabilities, given they sit top of the Premier League with just 26 goals conceded, he was right to an extent about the England international not being a centre-back, as he has starred at right-back in Arteta's side this season following the emergence of William Saliba alongside Gabriel.

This season has seen White earn an impressive 6.85 rating from WhoScored across his 28 top-flight appearances, with one goal and three assists to his name, with a title win certainly on the cards for the young defender, so early into his Arsenal career.

Unsurprisingly, the 25-year-old's emergence as a key player in a side top of the Premier League has seen his market value shoot up during his one-and-a-half-year spell at the Emirates.

When White joined, he was valued at just €28m (£24.7m) by Transfermarkt, but the same website now values him at €50m (£44.1m), which represents a significant 78% increase.

With Arsenal favourites for the title and certain to be playing in the Champions League next season, White's transfer value is only likely to increase further, as he continues to prove those who doubted him wrong.

Journalist Dean Jones has predicted that Sean Dyche could end up "loving" Everton striker Ellis Simms as he has the potential to keep the club from relegation.

What's the latest on Ellis Simms and Everton?

Back in January, the Toffees looked to be in a really dire situation as they sacked Frank Lampard having not won a Premier League game since October.

However, in recent weeks form has changed somewhat and Dyche will see his team enter the International break 15th on the table, two points above the bottom three.

In their last outing, Simms managed to grab a superb solo goal to rescue a point for Everton against Chelsea way from home with just one minute of the 90 to play.

With that in mind, while speaking on Chasing Green Arrows, Jones explained how the 22-year-old could be a good fit for new manager Dyche.

He said: "He's better than Maupay, isn't he? So he's already shown that. At least he's got some front about him and can charge through. He looks very driven, doesn't he?

"And he's a big lad. I mean, that's the sort of player you can just imagine Dyche absolutely loving. And you want that hunger in someone to prove a point and he looks like he's got that, too.

"So could be a hero at Everton by the end of the season."

Is Simms a better option for Everton than Maupay?

In all competitions, Simms has actually scored a very tidy eight goals from 23 outings, with two assists to his name as well. However, seven of these efforts were on loan with Sunderland in the Championship.

That means his strike against Chelsea was his first in six outings since being recalled from the Black Cats in January. Even so, across that time, he's only been on the pitch for 110 minutes.

Neal Maupay, on the other hand, has been regularly involved for Everton but still only has just one goal in 22 outings, for a total of 1,096 mins of game time across all competitions.

With that in mind, it's not hard to see why Jones has suggested that the 22-year-old has more to offer than the Frenchman. And seeing as Maupay didn't get off the bench against Chelsea while Simms did, it seems quite likely that Dyche agrees.

It will certainly be interesting to see if the young forward can continue to help his team in the midst of their relegation battle or if this was just a one-off – much like Maupay's only goal of the season.

When a side loses their sixth and seventh wickets in quick succession – as Australia did late last night – the opposing bowlers feel rightly buoyed by their success.

Will Luke23-Jul-2005

Jason Gillespie helped to squeeze every last run out of Australia’s innings © Getty Images
When a side loses their sixth and seventh wickets in quick succession – as Australia did late last night – the opposing bowlers feel rightly buoyed by their success. And so, with only three more wickets to take, and each batsman averaging not much higher than their shoe-size, England didn’t expect Nos. 9, 10 and 11 to stand in their way for too long this morning. But then Australia’s No 10 Jason Gillespie walked to the crease to join Simon Katich. Underestimate this tail-ender at your peril.While the lower order batsmen of previous eras would blindly swish and swat, much to the amusement of the crowds, the modern lower-order batsman is a different beast – and Gillespie is a case in point. Aptly nicknamed the “walking defence”, his performances at No. 9 and No. 10, while not being lavished with flourishing cover drives, have enraged opposition bowlers and captains – and this was exactly what happened this morning at Lord’s. Against India, at Chennai in October 2004, his 26 was made in 165 balls. At the SCG in January 2004, his innings of 47 in a partnership of 117 – again with Katich – was made in over two hours.Even by not scoring many runs, his presence there today allowed Katich a certain amount of freedom to extend Australia’s lead beyond the psychological total of 400. Interestingly he averages 51 minutes per innings, which is only 14 fewer than Adam Gilchrist.Early in his career, he was an enthusiastic nightwatchman – on those rare occasions when Australia needed one, of course. It was Steve Waugh who encouraged his side’s lower-order to spend more time in the nets and even succeeded in teaching Glenn McGrath how to bat. The dividends for Waugh’s vision have paid off, however, with the likes of Gillespie refusing to be beaten into submission, driven by the desire to eke out as many runs as possible. Last November, at Brisbane, Gillespie and McGrath both struck their first fifties in Test matches against New Zealand. The effect this had on New Zealand was devastating, who conceded a 93-run partnership. That same year, he was the second highest run-scorer batting at number nine in Tests, scoring 314 runs at an average of just under 20.Today, batting at No. 10, he defended with obduracy, withstanding a barrage of short-pitched bowling to support Katich. Their partnership of 52 was, of course, vital for Australia -but not just in terms of runs scored. It was debilitating for England who had, surely, hoped to be batting before lunch. While Katich will receive the plaudits tomorrow for his calm and crucial half-century, Gillespie played a vital role in dampening England’s spirit.

West Brom conceded in the final dying moments at the Hawthorns last match to lose to Leicester City 2-1, exposed on the break after overcommitting numbers with Harry Winks sliding in to convert a crucial winner for Enzo Maresca's Foxes.

Carlos Corberan will hope that his Baggies side won't be too disheartened by the nature of narrow defeat, that loss was only West Brom's second loss from their last five Championship matches with wins coming in the other contests.

Grady Diangana continues to underperform for the West Midlands side which will be a worry for Corberan, the exciting Congolese forward coming away from the Leicester match with a dire overall 6.2 Sofascore rating.

It was a lacklustre 75-minute display from the Baggies number 11 – only mustering up one shot all game which was blocked – with his first team future in jeopardy if he continues to underwhelm.

On the contrary, former West Brom dud Kamil Grosicki – who can usually operate on the opposite flank to where Diangana regularly features for his team – is now outperforming the misfiring 25-year-old with his new employers back in his native Poland.

How much West Brom signed Kamil Grosicki for

West Brom must have thought they'd struck gold when they signed a then in-form Grosicki for a reported fee of £800k with add ons, poaching the winger from Hull City.

Grosicki had been a consistent bright spark for the Tigers amidst turmoil off the field alongside Jarrod Bowen, the popular Polish attacker breaking Hull hearts when he moved on – scoring 26 goals and assisting a further 27 over four seasons at the MKM Stadium.

The move to West Brom just didn't work out for Grosicki however, leaving the Hawthorns on a free transfer after a torrid short stay at the club.

Kamil Grosicki's statistics at West Brom

Grosicki would only manage to score one goal for the Baggies from 19 appearances, the attacking midfielder never acclimatising to his new surroundings in the west Midlands fully.

It led to Grosicki having a frosty relationship with then West Brom boss Sam Allardyce, the one-time Bolton Wanderers boss turned Baggies short-term appointment calling the former Tigers man out for rejecting a move away from the club that could have been a lifeline.

Allardyce was rather blunt when questioned about Grosicki's lack of opportunities at the Hawthorns in the first team: "He could've gone to Nottingham Forest, but he refused."

Instead, Grosicki would have to pick up the pieces of his disintegrating football career back in his native Poland when he was released by the Baggies in 2021 with the 35-year-old now having the last laugh.

Grosicki would rejoin Pogoń Szczecin, the club that started the Polish winger's footballing journey in 2006 that saw him play in the EFL and beyond.

Kamil Grosicki's statistics since leaving West Brom

The 35-year-old, who now wears the captain's armband for his hometown club, has been the standout performer this season for Pogoń Szczecin.

Scoring 13 times in total during his first full season back on home soil, the experienced attacker has eight goals and nine assists in all competitions so far this campaign.

Three of those goal contributions even came in Europa Conference qualifying for Pogoń Szczecin, helping his team beat Northern Irish opposition Linfield 5-2 away at Windsor Park.

In contrast, Diangana for the Baggies only has three goals and three assists in Championship action this season.

Grosicki will continue firing in goals and providing teammates with assists out in Poland to end his career with a bang, whilst Diangana back at the Hawthorns needs to pick up form quickly or face the axe by an impatient Corberan.

James Neesham and Neil Broom were left out of NZC’s list of 20 contracted players for the 2018-19 period

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2018Canterbury’s legspinning allrounder Todd Astle has been offered a New Zealand contract for the first time, while James Neesham and Neil Broom were left out of the list of 20 contracted players for the 2018-19 period.List of contracted players

Corey Anderson, Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, George Worker

“Todd’s progress over the past 12 months has been exciting to see. When fit, he made the most of his opportunities in both Test and ODI cricket,” said New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “We have a big summer ahead; we know Todd performs well in New Zealand conditions, and we also have a spin-friendly tour against Pakistan coming up.”Between Todd, Ish and Mitchell our spin bowling stocks have probably never looked better. Jimmy and Neil didn’t show the consistency required over the past year and we’d like to see them go back and demand our attention again through domestic performance.”The new master agreement between NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association is yet to be finalised, but both parties came to an agreement so that the contracts process was not delayed.The new contracts will come into effect from August 1.

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Santos striker Deivid Washington and a new update has provided more details on his imminent move to the Premier League.

Who is Deivid Washington?

Washington is an academy graduate at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium having worked his way up through the various youth ranks to get promoted to Paulo Turra’s first team back in April, but despite still having another three years remaining on his contract, he’s been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

At the start of August, Fabrizio Romano reported that the Blues had agreed personal terms with the 18 year-old centre-forward and had submitted a bid which was set to be accepted by his club, with the idea being that he would immediately join Todd Boehly’s Strasbourg on loan where he could be closely monitored as part of the owner’s multi-club project.

The Brazilian, however, is yet to have wrapped up his move to SW6 as a result of the Blues focusing all of their attention on big-money deals for the likes of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, though with those players now successfully through the door, it sounds as if the attacker could be the next to follow in their footsteps.

Are Chelsea signing Deivid Washington?

Taking to X, Romano revealed that Chelsea have everything in place regarding the arrival of Washington, whilst sharing the last stages that need to happen in order for him to be announced as the newest member of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. He wrote:

“Deivid Washington already completed medical tests at Chelsea — it’s about final documents, formal steps then the Brazilian striker will be unveiled as new #CFC player. Santos to receive €16m fixed fee plus €4m add-ons [£17m total]."

How many goals has Deivid Washington scored?

Since the start of his career, Washington has scored eight goals in 29 appearances, so there’s no doubt that he’s a real star in the making and has a bright long-term future ahead of him. But, right now, Chelsea would be making the correct decision to send the striker out on loan to aid his development and increase his exposure.

The youngster has recorded a total of 17 shots over the course of the current campaign which is the third-highest tally throughout his squad, via FBRef, not to mention that he has the qualities to become a physical presence up top where he's averaging 1.1 aerial wins per league game.

Read The Latest Chelsea Transfer News HERE…

Santos’ “talented” prospect, as lauded by football scout Jacek Kulig, also has the ability to operate out wide on the left wing alongside his usual role through the middle, so should he return to become a member of the first team when he's matured, he would provide the boss with welcomed versatility.

The Blues are believed to be closing in on the signing of New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, who is set to undergo his medical today, but he’s not the only fresh face likely to be introduced to supporters before September 1st.

Leeds United need offensive additions fast, but Daniel Farke must be wary to avoid failures of the past in his transfer haste…

Who else will Leeds United sign this summer?

Already this summer has been a tumultuous one for the Whites, with the hope that their new four additions brought quickly offset by the numerous departures of many of their key first-team stars.

If anything, the Whites simply need bodies in at this point, given that their recent Championship clash with Birmingham City saw them only name eight substitutes, two of which were goalkeepers.

Read the latest Leeds transfer news HERE…

In an effort to bolster their ranks, they could reignite a transfer rumour of old, with their interest in AC Milan's Divock Origi having only been referenced back in July.

However, with the Belgian having struggled since swapping Liverpool for Milan, perhaps the Yorkshire outfit should look elsewhere rather than opting for the shiniest name being sold from the biggest club. The 28-year-old is valued by FootballTransfers at €8.4m (£7m).

How many goals did Divock Origi score for Liverpool?

Having only moved to the San Siro last summer, to see him touted for another transfer so soon is a damning indication of his recent form in Italy.

The former LOSC Lille star was handed plenty of opportunities to shine during the 2022/23 campaign, with 36 appearances across all competitions. However, for whatever reason, the former Reds favourite could only muster two goals.

Such profligacy on a £84k-per-week wage is the last thing Farke needs, given he is already suffering from some of the club's high-profile failures of the past.

One such name that remains at Elland Road is Dan James, who was brought in from Manchester United back in 2021.

Signed for a mouth-watering £25m fee, the Welshman was an outcast at Old Trafford and has hardly taken to life in Yorkshire with ease either.

It was a doomed deal from the start, and by signing Origi from a similarly huge team would mark a repeat given his clear exile from the first team.

A club like Leeds, who crave an upturn in their fortunes and a brighter future, should be focusing on investing shrewdly in the unknown, with data backing up their purchases. Then, given the quality and frequency of games in the Championship, these unproven stars can be allowed to adapt and one day shine.

Bringing in these stalwarts might seem like the attractive option, but the chances are it would only end poorly.

Especially when using James as an example, with the winger having made just 43 appearances, scoring a measly four times.

Such abhorrent form even saw the 25-year-old shipped out on loan, where he fared no better for Fulham.

This has been a financial disaster for the club, who have a history of imploding when tumbling down the divisions.

The only benefit that Origi and the huge fiscal burden he would bring has relies on fans misremembering his time at Anfield, as whilst he scored important goals, he was hardly proficient.

A tally of 41 goals in 175 games made it abundantly clear whilst he was never a starter, yet his Champions League semi-final brace against FC Barcelona, and subsequent strike in the final, has understandably made him the "cult hero" that pundit Laura Woods suggested he was.

However, he does not have that consistent scoring touch to offset the reasons against such a signing, which would once again see Leeds take a big club's unwanted dud.

On a tour where more had been said about Jonny Bairstow’s headbutt than his batting he was able to let out a few emotions on the second day in Perth

George Dobell in Perth15-Dec-2017Jonny Bairstow ensured he had the last laugh after completing a maiden Ashes century.On the first night of this tour, Bairstow ventured to the Avenue bar in the suburbs of Perth and greeted Cameron Bancroft with a now notorious genial head-butt.While it took a few weeks for the incident to come to light – Australia used it in the second innings of the first Test to unsettle Bairstow and some have subsequently suggested it provides evidence of England’s “drinking culture” – it briefly threatened to disturb the focus of both Bairstow and the England camp.But upon reaching his century here, Bairstow kissed and then gently head-butted his England helmet several times in a clear and good-natured reference to the episode. It was a celebration that demonstrated both an ability to laugh at his own errors and suggested the incident had long been put behind him. And, as he said afterwards, it may well be the whole affair gave him made him “more determined to succeed.”With that context and the fact that it had taken Bairstow until his fourth Ashes series, his 12th Ashes Test and his 20th Ashes innings to make his first Ashes century, it was perhaps not surprising that he rated it his “favourite” Test century.”The hundred in many ways was my favourite one,” Bairstow said. “I’ve played in a few Ashes series now and to score an Ashes hundred – something that had eluded me until now – is something you dream about as a kid. This is the pinnacle of the game.”It means a heck of a lot to be involved in record stands. You want to make an Ashes hundred. You want to look back in the archives when you’re retired and say to your kids or your grandkids: ‘I made an Ashes hundred at the WACA’.”There’s a huge amount of pride that comes with any hundred and in playing for your country.”The celebration was a bit of light hearted fun and it should be taken as such. It was spontaneous. I hadn’t thought about it before.”Hopefully it is a positive reaction I have given in this innings. Sometimes the chat out there spurs people on and makes them more determined to succeed.”Jonny Bairstow celebrates his maiden Ashes hundred•Getty Images

Bairstow hadn’t scored a Test century since an unbeaten 167 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in June 2016 – 21 Tests and 38 innings ago – though he made 99 against South Africa at Old Trafford in August. But here he posted a stand of 237 with Dawid Malan – a record for England’s fifth-wicket in Ashes cricket – to steer England from the peril of 131 for 4 to the relative comfort of 368 for 4 before a now familiar batting collapse.While Bairstow admitted the collapse was “frustrating” and the manner of Malan’s dismissal “disappointing”, he maintained a ‘glass half-full’ perspective.”It was disappointing the way he got out,” Bairstow said, “but the intent we showed in our batting was much better.”Maybe we’re frustrated in some ways, but it depends how you look at things. We were 100 for 4 at one stage. You can either think it was a fantastic recovery or you can look at it and say we’ve let our position slip.”Meanwhile the ECB confirmed Mark Wood would remain with the England squad after the end of the Lions tour on Sunday. There are currently no plans to retain the services of any of the other players in that squad, most of whom will arrive back in the UK on Monday.That means that, despite the failings of the top-order, England’s only obvious batting options for the final two Tests are Ben Foakes and Gary Ballance. While others are either in Australia or shortly will be – Jos Buttler, Jason Roy and Sam Billings are among those involved in the BBL while Sam Robson is spending time with his family in Sydney – there are currently no plans to utilise any of them in the Ashes.It remains to be seen how much of a role Craig Overton will play in the rest of the match. Overton was forced off the pitch for a while on the second day after jarring a rib as he attempted to claim a tough caught and bowled opportunity. He returned to the field before the close and it was not deemed necessary to send him for a scan. But he will be assessed by the medical team before play on the third day to ascertain his fitness to bowl.

In his book, Steven Smith revealed he was mystified by Virat Kohli’s accusations of DRS misuse during the Bengaluru Test earlier this year

Daniel Brettig26-Oct-20171:20

Smith on the India series’ DRS controversy

Steven Smith believes his opposite number Virat Kohli invented claims of systemic DRS abuse by the touring team as a form of gamesmanship during a this year’s Border-Gavaskar Test series, in which Australia’s captain also described the BCCI’s decision to release select stump microphone audio of verbal exchanges as “pretty ordinary”.In shedding light on the hot-tempered encounter between India and Australia earlier this year, where the unfancied visitors came exceptionally close to ending the hosts’ long unbeaten run on home territory, Smith revealed how he is to this day mystified by Kohli’s accusations, which were dropped and never again mentioned from the moment the series was decided. Speaking exclusively to ESPNcricinfo – the full interview will run next week – Smith called the claims “rubbish”.Kohli’s accusations followed a moment amid the cauldron of Australia’s fourth-innings chase of a small target on a difficult pitch in the second Test in Bangalore, when victory would have granted Smith’s team an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series following their surprise win in the opener in Pune. When given out lbw to a shooter, Smith ran the decision past his batting partner Peter Handscomb, who instinctively motioned towards the team viewing area for advice – a move outlawed under DRS protocols. Smith, too, turned around, before being sent on his way by the umpire Nigel Llong.”It wasn’t until afterwards that I realised what a talking point it had become, fuelled by Kohli’s post-match claims that we’d called on off-field assistance twice earlier in the match to help our on-field deliberations,” Smith wrote in his book, . “As far as I was concerned, we’d never tried to consult with the dressing room beforehand and although he said he’d brought those previous occasions to the notice of the umpires, I can say categorically that we were never spoken to by either those umpires or match referee Chris Broad about any such breaches in protocol.”Virat has always been a player who’s thrived in the most intense of environments, and like me he loves a battle and I can only think it was his way of raising the temperature in the series in an attempt to get the best out of himself. The idea of getting messages from the sidelines for that purpose was not a tactic we as a team ever spoke about and … I can’t work out what he was referring to in his remarks.”There was never anything further on the matter from the ICC and Virat never detailed the incidents he was referring to. And during the brief interactions we had – including at the captain’s briefing for the IPL as that tournament followed the series – he was friendly and it was as if any ill-feeling he may have had over the incident had disappeared. It was and still is all a big mystery to me.”Getty ImagesSmith also remains annoyed by how the BCCI chose to highlight an exchange between Ravindra Jadeja and Matthew Wade during the decisive Dharamsala Test match, during a series in which there were many instances of heated discussion among opponents. Smith additionally pointed out that ICC regulations prohibit broadcasters from airing audio captured on stump microphones when the ball is dead.”It was an example of the banter that took place on the field, but it gave a very one-sided view of what was happening,” Smith wrote. “There would have been plenty of examples that could have been released of Indian players engaging with me and my team, such as when they were constantly in the ears of Matt Renshaw when he resumed his first innings in Pune having had to retire ill because of diarrhoea. Ian Gould asked Matthew and Ravindra to cut it out in Dharamsala and that was where it ended. So to rake it up in the way that it was benefited no-one.”What was overlooked in the minor controversy that followed was that, under ICC guidelines, the broadcaster shouldn’t have been broadcasting audio from the stump microphones, except for instances when the ball was in play, and it certainly wasn’t when Matthew and Ravindra were having their discussions. But whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation, it was a timely reminder to players of both sides that the old adage of what happens on the field, stays on the field, no longer applies.”Looking more broadly at the on-field behaviour of the Australian side, Smith said he had no qualms about his team seeking a verbal edge over opponents when matches get tight. He also took issue with the perception that his team was “nice as pie” on the field when dominating a match and only went into verbal aggressor mode when things were not going their way.”I know there is a view that has us as the ugly Aussies and that although, when we are on top, we are all nice as pie on the field, when the opposition gets success against us then we are quick to get into them verbally, but I don’t see it like that,” he wrote. “It’s simply that, as a group of players, we don’t like backing down in a contest and the greater the intensity of the action on the field the more we all back each other up.”If that’s through the odd word with our opponents so be it. The umpires are there to step in if anything is out of order and I don’t think there was much, if anything, that fitted the bill through the series.”