Steve Smith accused of picking his friends in Australian team

New Delhi: There are few countries that are as demanding as Australia when it comes to sporting success. Every slip is magnified as Steve Smith, captain of the Australia cricket team, may testify. Smith has had a fairly good run as captain apart from having lots of success as a batsman.

But a 3-0 ODI loss against India in the ongoing series has got the detractors out. Among them is former Aussie fast bowler Rodney Hogg who has accused Smith of picking his friends in the national team.

Talking to SEN radio station in Australia, Hogg (as quoted by Foxsports), said, “They’re picking their mates. Smith shouldn’t be a selector. (Ashton) Agar’s been pushed through and (Hilton) Cartwright’s still there. We saw (Nic) Maddinson get selected (he’s) a mate, he’s one of Steve Smith’s mates. You can’t pick bl**dy mates.”

He further added, “We’ve got to get fair dinkum. We’re really off the ball a bit here, I think the captain’s getting his own way. All the way down, there’s got to be question marks. All the way across Cricket Australia. (Jon) Holland has proven he can bowl people out, left-arm orthodox is a really hard. He’s proven it and we aren’t seeing him.”