Former Australian Test opener Chris Rogers has pitched for Steve Smith to be given support by the public after the embattled former skipper was handed the reins of the side in regular captain Pat Cummins' absence for the second Ashes game currently underway here.
Cummins was excluded from the Adelaide Test after he came in contact with a person who later tested positive for Covid-19 and his deputy Smith took over the reins of the side. The 32-year-old Smith was in the midst of a ball-tampering scandal on the tour of South Africa in 2018 and was stripped of his captaincy and banned from playing any form of cricket for one year.
But with Smith leading the team from the front in the Adelaide Test and putting them in a winning position, Rogers felt the batting stalwart needed public sympathy. The 44-year-old Rogers, who played 25 Tests and had a batting average of nearly 43, said on Sunday that he understood that some people had issues with a tainted cricketer leading the Australian side but added that Smith relishes leading the side.
