Australia vs New Zealand, 2nd Test: Steve Smith gets into an Argument after Umpire Denies Leg Byes Twice

Australian batsman Steve Smith was left unhappy when he was denied leg byes twice during the first day of the second test between Australia and New Zealand on Thursday.

In the final over before lunch, Wagner bowled a bouncer which hit Smith on the body. Smith tried to sneak in a single, but umpire Nigel Long stopped him, on the grounds of no shot being offered.

The Laws of Cricket suggest that leg byes can be awarded either when a batsman is offering a shot or when he is taking evasive action. Smith’s actions, as per Long’s understanding, were not evasive but not offering a shot, much to the contradiction of Smith’s thoughts of his shot (or no shot).

Smith became even more infuriated when he was denied leg byes once again in the same over. He was seen making his argument to the umpire, and felt his team should have got a few leg byes.

A satisfying day for Australia-

At the end of first day’s play in Melbourne, Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 77 as  Australia found themselves 257 for4. After having lost Joe Burns early, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne built a good partnership with latter going on to get a half century.

Given that they lost the toss and were put into bat first, Australia will be satisfied with the effort and will look to build on it on the second day.

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As for New Zealand, they would have ideally liked a few more wickets to justify their decision to bowl first.