Steve Smith returns to South Africa: Between the deed and the redemption falls the shadow

So Steve Smith was ‘traumatised’ at the reaction to his act of cheating in a Test match. Australia are in South Africa for their first Test series after the incident known as ‘sandpapergate’. On their last tour in 2018 Smith was captain and had a role in using sandpaper to tamper with the ball in violation of the laws of the game.

Smith’s vice-captain David Warner was banned too; there has been an interesting narrative since. When Smith returned to the crease post-ban, he made 144 and 142 in the Edgbaston Test despite relentless booing and hostility from the English crowd. He finished with 774 runs in the series, a tale of guts and gumption. Was it the start or the end of redemption?