Steve Smith was the hero as Australia beat England by 185 runs in the fourth Test at Old Trafford to regain the Ashes. It has been a magical return to the Test arena for the former Australia captain since completing a 12-month ball-tampering ban. While Steve Smith was labelled a villain and copped a lot of abuse from the England fans ahead of Ashes 2019 and during the first Test, it seemed that he was starting to win over even his fiercest critics, thanks to some spectacular batting. However, England fans are at war again with the former Australia captain after pictures emerged of a bespectacled Steve Smith celebrating the fourth Test win.
England fans raged on Twitter and accused Steve Smith of mocking the glasses-wearing Jack Leach, who after helping England win the third Test at Headingley, led his teammates on the pitch to recreate the one run he scored in his last wicket 76-run partnership with Ben Stokes.
According to various reports in the English media, the 30-year-old Australian was also seen shadow batting left-handed in the "middle of a team huddle".
Steve Smith has been nothing short of brilliant so far in the Ashes and managed to even leapfrog India skipper Virat Kohli to become the world's leading Test batsman.
Smith has scored an astonishing 671 runs at an average innings of 134.2, including three hundreds, despite missing England's one-wicket win in the third Test at Headingley with concussion.
"I'm not sure I have ever played better," said Smith. "I have come back fresh from a year out, but relaxed and chilled out."
Australia coach Justin Langer added: "We've got the best fast bowler (Cummins) in the world and the best Test batsman in the world.
"I thought Virat Kohli was the best batsman I've ever seen because of the way he plays in all forms, but Steve Smith... That's another level."
(With AFP inputs)