Hi, I'm Gus Walland and this is Not An Overnight Success brought to you by
Shoren Partners Financial Services. This is a podcast where we sit down with
some very successful people from the world of business, entertainment and sport
and chat about their life's journey and what got them to the position that they're in today.
In today's episode we are chatting with Steve Smith.
Steve Smith is one of the greatest cricketers in the world. Cricket has been Steve's life
but his journey to the top and to stay there has had some hiccups.
Today we speak about Steve's childhood and family, what led into pursuing cricket
and his choice to play for Australia instead of England, which I'm very, very glad about.
We talk about that pivot in his career from bowling to batting
and how those decisions were made. We talk about the challenges he faced
with his band and what he did to overcome it. How giving back to the community helped
shape him into a more resilient person. Of course I get a lot of cricket
questions in there because I'm a cricket fanatic but mostly this chat just shows
how much Steve is not an overnight success. His dedication and mindset
are what made him so successful. As for all these podcasts
Shaun Partners have generously donated $10,000 to the charity
of choice of each of our guests. We discuss who gets that money and what they'll do
with it in this chat. The executive producer of this podcast is Keisha Pettit
with production assistance from Kelly Stubbs and Brittany Hughes. Let's get into
our chat with Steve Smith.
Smithy, how are you mate? Good Gussie, how are you? Great to see you.
I know quite a bit about you but a lot of people would like to know your background.
Where were you born? What was your family make up and what were you like as a young man?
I was born at St George Hospital
down in Cogra. I've got a sister that's two years older than me named
Christy. She lives in the UK currently. She's been there for about 10 years.
She married a bloke over there or? She has, yeah.
She married a bloke. She's got three kids that aren't hers
that she takes care of so that would be hard work.
She's my only sibling and then mum and dad.
We grew up in the Shire down in Alphard's Point.
Mum and dad have only just recently sold that place and moved down south even
further to Vincentia where we used to holiday as a kid
a lot or when I was a kid. They love it down there.
Semi-retired and packed up and moved down there.
That's essentially it for my family. Was it sad when mum and dad sold the family
home? Was there a little part of you that was like oh,
I know that for my family when we sold the family home, their business of course
but you're like oh, I'm going to miss it. It wasn't heaps. Probably
I'd moved out a long time ago so probably more for mum and dad
just leaving the home that their kids grew up in.
I probably felt a little bit of that. Were you close to your sister growing up?
Yeah, we were probably only two years apart. We got on well
as kids. I don't see her a great deal these days with her being over in the UK
but we talk as regularly as we can and we still get on well.
When you go over to England and play cricket, whether it's for Australia
or County or one of the 2020s, do you see her then?
Do the kids come and watch? Are they Australian supporters? What's that synergy like?
Yeah, they're definitely Australian supporters. They slide down
every now and again and see a day's play or whatever which is nice
so it's good to have their support from the other side of the world.
How often do you get phoned up and say hey Smithy, I'm in town, I wouldn't mind a couple of tickets.
How does that actually work and can you get tickets for people to the game?
Yeah, that does happen quite regularly. We get allocated tickets for every
game. Depending on who we're playing, they're in pretty high
demand for some games so the games that aren't
quite so high demanding, I'm certainly available to
hand a few out. Now, if it was the first day of the first test match
of an Asha series, would you get four tickets? And if so, is there like
an order there you go, righto, there's no way Smithy's going to get one because
he's more Bangladesh one dayer. Do you have a pecking order for your mates
to get tickets from you? Yeah, I normally
start with family, so mum and dad quite often for like the first
Asha's test would come up to Brisbane or wherever it is.
These days you never know do you? Yeah, it changes every now and again so
they're usually first and then I guess sort of my best mates if they're
keen to come up, they're I guess first off the list and then
sort of work your way around and try and help everyone out as much as possible.
Ask other people if they're using their tickets. Sometimes can ask the
opposition because they get tickets as well so they potentially may not be using
them so yeah, try and help everyone out as much as possible. That's great
and do you know where they're sitting? Like so if you score
let's say you get 50 and you're raising your bat normally to the dressing room in the crowd, would you
know your spot where mum and dad might be sitting or your wife or best mates?
Usually yes, it's changed a little bit the last few years with COVID
I think some of the spots are a little bit different so I scored some runs
at the SCG and I was raising my bat somewhere where I thought
people would be and I think I was in the wrong direction so
that happens but it's great to have support and people come out
to watch me play and watch the team go about it. Of course, so what were you like
as a kid Smithy? Like growing up were you into everything? Were you good at
school? Sort of give people an understanding of what Steve Smith as a
5 year old to a 15 year old was like. Yeah, I've always been into my
sport so I played a little bit of soccer growing up, some Oz tag
I was never allowed to play tackle footy
I think mum was like you're going to get injured. Is that because you were little or she?
I was little but I don't know cricket was always probably
like the priority so didn't want to get injured in the off season and
have an injury going into the cricket season. Then I played some tennis
in the off season as well until I was about 16 I think which I loved
and still love so yeah I dabbled in all different sports
outside of summer where obviously cricket was the priority but yeah love
sport and then I guess when it comes to school I mean I was okay
as a student. When I put my mind to something I'm pretty good at it and I just
probably didn't put my mind to it as much as I perhaps could have
but yeah I did my best I suppose. In terms of tennis
because cricket obviously was your number one, were you any good at tennis?
Are you any good at tennis and for you is it just a chance to break
away from normal life for a few hours or is it something that you actually work
out and like golfers want to get better and better at? Yeah I want to get better at
it. Actually during COVID at the start I was getting a few lessons
because tennis was one thing you could do. You could play singles tennis
and like you could play golf here in New South Wales as well so
I was actually getting some lessons down at White City every now and again.
Were you playing on the grass or on the hard court? No I was on the hard court or the
synthetic grass trying to sort my back hand out that's been an issue
for some time but no look I still play
I think it's great fitness particularly for a cricket player
if you're playing against someone that's reasonable you know you're running around
your points last for you know it can be 20-30 seconds which is kind of like
cricket you know you're running between the wickets you stop you go again so
it's kind of similar I suppose in a way to what it is with cricket
so you know I was playing during COVID at the start I was
playing with Ben Dorshus actually who's a weapon he should be playing tennis
really. Really? He's a lefty he's like Rafael Nadal he gets to everything beats me every
time. Wow. We were playing two three hours sessions probably
three to four days a week. Great. And yeah the calories you burn
is great it's magnificent so yeah that was our fitness sessions
I'll probably go for a run later in the day or something as well but yeah the
fitness out of tennis is outstanding. So that's great so tennis was a part of your
life but when did you sort of know that cricket was something that
you could perhaps have as a job because I know how many young
kids have a dream 14-15 I'm going to get a baggy green but could you actually
see that as an option for you as a mid-teen? It's what I
always wanted probably didn't really become I suppose a
reality until I started playing first grade when I was 16
so I was pretty young for that and just sort of progressing through the ranks
I think later that year I was playing second 11 with New South Wales so
yeah things were happening pretty quickly and then that was
always my dream it's what I always wanted to do and I left school
halfway through year 12 to go and play some club cricket over in England
I ended up playing some second 11 cricket with Kent and
Surrey at that stage I got offered a contract at Surrey that year
my mum's English so I've got an English passport
so yeah they offered me a contract and then I got offered a rookie contract
at New South Wales at the same time and I took that
Thanks Smith. On behalf of all Australian cricket fans thank you
You're welcome I think it was a good decision so
and then yeah things sort of just happened really quickly didn't really have time to
catch my breath and yeah I was playing as a spinner I was playing
as an all-rounder and then I was playing as a batter it all turned really quickly so
it's been I guess a dream come true. Did you have any doubts did you
have any you know imposter syndrome going on in your head
around your ability and whether or not you could actually make it
with everything happening so quickly? I did initially when I was playing as a bowler
because I was never a bowler I was really always a batter
growing up that bowled because I wanted to be involved in the game so
when I got thrusted into test cricket in 2010
as the spin bowler post Shane Warne with
the turn style of spinners that went through at that stage
yeah it was a bit daunting because it wasn't my preferred skill so
You didn't want to say no. No absolutely not I would happily take the baggy green for sure
so yeah I took that played a couple of tests as a
spinner and then I played three as an all-rounder in the ashes in
2010 and then got to a point in my career where
I had to make a decision I don't think I was doing good
enough at either so it was like for me it was always batting so I was
like alright let's concentrate on batting let's nail that down and get that to
a point where I'd be successful in international cricket and
it was about a two year period there where I was out of the team and turned
things around and got myself back and I've been there since.
What did you do in that two years obviously you made the mental decision to go right
bowling is going to be absolutely which you do do the odd overs here and there
nearly won us an ashes test with that last over which was great which I was lucky enough
to call. That might well be the last over I bowled I think.
You got a wicket so you made the mental choice right I've got to concentrate
on batting that two years when you were out of the test team what was that like
for you and did you ever doubt yourself that you would eventually
get back there if you just stood the course? I never doubted it I don't think
it was just about prioritising my time so
when I was playing as an all rounder I'd
rock up to training I'd do fielding which I'd pride myself on
obviously you spend half your time in your career in the field
so the way I see it is you want to be good at it you spend 50% of your time
out there you want to be good at it so prioritise fielding and then
back then I'd bowl for probably 30-45 minutes and then I'd bat
and I'd be like I'd be pretty cooked by the time I start batting
and I wasn't spending as much time on the batting so it was like
alright if I just get rid of the bowling side of things I've still got the fielding there
and then I can just bat for longer or just
spend more time batting and prioritise that so
that was the decision I made I think that was 2011
and it was yeah for about two years I just prioritised my batting and made sure
I could get that to a level that I wanted it to be at
and yeah things just sort of turned around I got to know my game a bit better
I think I got a bit fitter so I was turning my 60s, 70s
into 100s which is where you get noticed obviously
and yeah things turned around for me and
2013 I got the call up again to go and play in
India and yeah I think I almost played outside of
when I got banned I think I've played every single test match in that period
except for probably where I got knocked out at Lord's
Which gave us manas so you did us a favour there as well
That's it, that's it. Smithy when you made that decision do you make
that yourself? Are you self reliant on you know yourself
well enough or do you have a team of people that you speak to or
do you say you know what this is what I've decided and I want you to back me or is it hey guys
I'm trying to come up with a solution like how does your brain work
and how does your people around you which I know is important to your work?
Yeah I think it is really important to have a group around you that you can discuss
these things with. I can't really remember how it worked back in 2011
it was a long time ago I've got a horrific memory so I'm sure I would have discussed
things with my manager, my wife now which would have been
a new girlfriend at that stage I'm pretty certain
They get the one wrong mate. My best mate and
my old man are generally the group that I discuss things with and
sort of big decisions in my life so yeah I dare say that would have happened back
then, it's just a long time ago now, I've been playing for too long
and I think everyone was supportive of that decision
I still roll the arm over every now and again in the nets but it's more just
sort of to help out rather than be a skill for me
And Martis thinks he's a better leggy anyway now right? Yeah he does
well he's in the period where he's full of energy and
he can do all that stuff, he can train batting, bowling, building
so I'll let him do that for now, he'll probably get to a point where he'll stop bowling
and just bat maybe but yeah for now he's
full of energy and non-stop so he can bowl my overs that's
for sure. Perfect, well I've been watching a little bit of county cricket as you know I'm a tragic
so I watch it all and he's been knocking over blokes with his medium paces
His medium paces are awful. He gets the odd wicket though
and he gets so excited. Well anyone can get a wicket bowling seamers on those
wickets, I mean they're bowling 110k's and hitting the seam
and doing plenty so it's a bit different
over there at the moment. Yeah it certainly is. Let's go back to the decision you made
you decided to concentrate on your batting, you spoke about that couple of years when you
focused on that before you got back into the team. Is anyone at Cricket Australia
actually have a chat to you or is someone at New South Wales saying to you Smithy
you know we understand your plan, it's all going to plan or are you left to pretty much
mentally work that stuff out yourself or is there a feeling of someone putting
their arm around you and understanding what you're trying to do to get back in the
team? From memory I think I met with the coach at the time
and I was just like look I want to just focus all my energy on my batting
you know I want to make that as good as it can be. I feel that's my way
back into the team and yeah I don't think they really
had a choice. Yeah. So that was what I wanted to do
and if they didn't want to pick me then so be it but that was for me that was
my way back and yeah I guess it's worked out. Oh it sure
has incredible and do you think jumping forward a little bit now
did you think at the time that could ever be as wonderful as it has been in terms
of your run making, your being number one in the world, being
spoke about as Bradman that type of stuff like is that wildest dream type stuff
or is that actually what you envisaged?
Yeah it is wildest dream stuff but I also
was confident as well in my ability particularly
when I figured out how to play in terms of
the mental side of my game. I always felt technically
I could cope and I always tinker with a few different
things here and there for different surfaces and what have you but
it was more the mental side of the game and once I got that into a place that I
was comfortable with I knew I could do some good stuff
so yeah to be able to have done it for an extended
period now it's pleasing and hopefully there's still
a little bit left in me. I'm sure there is, I'm backing you mate. In terms
of the technical side of things for people who don't understand cricket they watch you and
they enjoy the mannerisms and the movements and that type of stuff
can you explain to people that don't know that mental
side of it and why you do the things that you do which do stand out because not many
people in the world do it? Yeah I'm not really sure I actually don't know
that I'm doing it out in the middle it kind of just happens and I think
the more movements there are and like the faster it happens I think
the more I'm actually mentally switched on when I do the random
leaves and you know just different movements and yell really loudly
with my calls. I think that's when I'm actually in the zone and really focused
you know people quite often say why can't you get into that zone all the time
but it just I don't know it's a difficult question to answer
because it just kind of happens every now and again and I know
when I'm in that zone and in that head space it's going to take something
sort of special to get rid of me so yeah the aim is to
get into that zone as much as possible and I'd love to know how to get
in there every time that would be great but yeah when you get in there you've got to make the most
of it. And you've certainly done that over the years there's no doubt about that
your average now is, is it second to Bradman still?
Do you care about those sort of things? Do you look at stats and
I remember the last text I sent you was like you're the quickest ever to 8,000
runs and I remember being so proud of you for that. Is that something you
think about? Are those the things that keep driving you?
I haven't really sort of thought about that kind of thing I mean it's nice to tick
those things off it means you're doing some stuff pretty well to you know particularly some of
the names on that list in the quickest to 8,000 runs is
you know to get on top of a couple of those players was even to be mentioned
in that category is pretty special so yeah now I guess
I don't know the next goal I suppose is quickest to 9,000 and quickest
to 10,000 I think that would be pretty special but also I don't want to
sort of think about that stuff at the same time so hopefully it just happens
naturally and I go out there and just keep performing as much
as I can for Australia and whichever other team I'm playing
for. Smithy have you got any sort of pre-match rituals anything that you
go through that you just need to nail down before you
know that you're at your best? How long we got?
About another half an hour.
I do do some sort of different
stuff if I'm listening to music on the way to the ground
I always play the same song last before I get to the ground
it's 23 by Jimmy Eat World I don't know it's a strange one I just did it once
and I just liked what sort of mindset it put me in so
whenever I get to the ground if I know I'm five minutes away I'll put that song on
and just listen to that last. That's a start.
And then when I'm getting ready to bat so I wear footy socks
and I tape my shoelaces to my socks
I don't like the visual of seeing my shoelaces when I'm batting
so I used to fold my trouser over my
shoe and put my pad on over my trouser to
keep my shoelaces in but then every now and again it would sort of slip out
and I was playing in the IPL in I think 2017
and the physio at the stage it was Tommy Simsek who does a bit with New Zealand
and the trousers we were wearing were quite tight and I couldn't get a fold on them
so he said why don't you just tape your shoelaces to your socks so I did it and I think I got
150 balls or something and then I just continued on doing it so
yeah so I do that and then I put everything left on first
left shoe, left sock, left pad,
left glove, everything left and then when I'm waiting to bat I
really like to watch, watch most balls, try and get a feel for what's
going on out in the middle, any cues that I can to be one step
ahead when I get out there so it's quite draining when I'm waiting
to bat, if I have to wait for an extended period which I guess I have a little
bit over, in 2019 in particular there was some
times where I was waiting for a long time and the worst thing sometimes the TV
is on a slight delay so I watch the ball live and then I look up at the TV
and I watch that so I'm watching twice
so yeah I watch as much as I can just to get a head start on
what's happening out in the middle and then once a week it falls
headband on, helmet on, walk out and before I walk out
I always do the same thing, I touch left pad, right pad, box
left pad, right pad, box, walk out, look up to the sky
stretch down, do a hamstring like stretch six times
play two cut shots, walk, I don't know it's
just become like a routine now, I don't even have to think about it, I just do it
then when I mark my guard, I bend down, I do two more stretches
I hit both pads, I play one shot and then I'm ready to play
listening to you Smithy
oh my goodness, I think we need to have a break
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and let's get back into the episode. So Smithy, let's change
the subject and talk about Danny, you know she's
was girlfriend, now wife and we see her obviously on social media
she's beautiful, she seems to love travelling, been in New York
a lot lately and so forth, was it love at first sight for you guys
was it something that you loved her but she needed a little bit of
yeah probably, that happens a lot, let's not tell her that
so we met 2010 I think it was
this year of the Big Bash, I was out on a Monday night at a place called
Scuba of all places, I'm hearing laughs everywhere
I just got to know each other well
to start with, yeah I was probably more interested in her than she was in me, turned around
and yeah here we go, how many years later, how many, 12, 13
years later. Yeah it is, and you got married a couple of years ago
now? 2018 yeah. And what was that day like
and were you part of the planning of that or were you just given the
this is where you get your suit and turn up at 3 o'clock? That was pretty much it yeah
I went down to the venue before, so we got married down in
it's called Bandooli Estate in Mossvale
yeah so we went down to the venue a couple of months before, did some food tasting
and I think some wine tasting probably as well, so yeah that was probably the
extent of the wedding planning, yeah
Danny did the rest. She's happy with that though, like you just get in the way?
Yeah I reckon yeah, so she was pretty happy with that and then
it was a great day, a good sort of celebration with lots of friends and family
and fun so. Smithy does she love cricket, did she love cricket, did she know
who you were when she met you? No, but she loved
sport and she had no choice really, but
to get into cricket now she thinks she's an expert
I'll come home and she'll say what are you doing swinging at that one?
Yeah it happens, it happens but
yeah it's great to have her at the cricket and have her support
and travelling with me as much as possible, it's been tough for the last couple of years
with Covid but yeah when that sort of, well I guess it's slowly starting to settle
down so hopefully she can travel with me a bit more and come to watch a few more
cricket games. Within the wives and the girlfriends and stuff is there a bit of a
team there that all watch together, are there like a team within themselves
if you like, obviously pre-Covid? Yeah I think most of the girls
get on pretty well so most try and travel as much as possible
when we're in Australia they usually travel around with us a fair amount here
so you know we see a lot of each other, got a good group and a good
crew at the moment so yeah it's good to have that support off the field.
There's a discussion at the moment around all sports around partners and them coming to games and
travelling or whether or not we should go back to the old school and let you guys concentrate
on what your job is, what are your thoughts around that type of
thing, are you happy with you know having partners and
so forth, can you still be as good as you want to be with that?
Yeah absolutely and I think it's down to each individual really, if you've got
your partner with you and you're performing well then I don't see an issue with it
everyone's different you know and it's just about individually
being able to have a conversation and there's been times where I've said to Danny
can you, like I just need a week of, I've just got to work really hard, can you
just give me this week and come next week, you know things like that and just being
able to have that communication and open conversation to get the
best out of yourself in that particular moment I suppose.
Yeah and that's fantastic, that's how we should be, being open and honest about how we feel
and then the other person respecting that and it all works.
What's it like for someone like me and a lot of people listening to this
you know they would love to play for Australia, they'd love to play for the Sixers, they'd love to have an
opportunity to play in a big bash series, living in a suitcase and so forth but that is
your life and has been your life for well and truly over a decade,
is it as glamorous as it's made out to be,
is there a time where you just go oh actually I need a bit of a break
or do you just love the fact you're jumping from the hundred you know when that
was on or when that's happening to the IPL to
obviously all the stuff for Australia in all the three formats?
I think particularly when I was younger and growing up and trying to
understand my game more, I think the more I played the better it was kind of thing,
I think now the schedules are pretty hectic, there's a lot
on and particularly away from home so
it's kind of, you know it's great to continue
playing and stuff but there's times I think where you just need a mental reset, probably more than
physical just your mind needs to
chill out for a bit and refresh and then you're sort of good to go again
so I've had a little bit of a break now for probably close
to two months so I'm well refreshed and ready to get back
into things, I certainly can feel it more as I'm getting older
or understanding probably more when I'm starting to fatigue,
I was still probably fatigued when I was younger but I sort of just kept going through it,
I think I just understand it more and where my mind's at and
how my body's feeling as I'm getting older and I think that sort of comes with
experience and then being able to have conversations
with coaches and selectors around how you're feeling
and what your mental state's like because they would like you in
as good a mental state as you can be in as well so if there's
opportunities to rest guys and get them back to
where their peak performance is then I think that's important as well.
You've got a new coach at Australia, he's been around for quite a while and watching
as we were commentating on The Ashes seems to be a bloke that you guys enjoy
his company, lots of laughs but the whole sort of team of people
that support you and stuff so moving forward you've got a big schedule coming up
I know a couple of test series this summer as well as a whole lot of other stuff
What's the new coach like? Do you like that sort of way that he does things?
He seems to be more of a facilitator than a coach. No he's great, he
gets on with everyone really well, communicates effectively,
has a good cricket brain and understands the game really well
so look he's obviously took over in Pakistan
we played some pretty good cricket there in that series. That was awesome
to watch too. Yeah it was good, playing on some pretty benign wickets
Hopefully we see something a little bit different in Sri Lanka, hopefully
some wickets that spin a bit more. From ball one I love that stuff, it's good fun
so yeah we'll see what we get but no look he's been great so far
and I'm sure he's going to continue to grow and be a terrific coach for Australia
Let's just talk now about that Pakistan series and not the fact that
you played in it but the fact that Australia was there. Such an enormous
thing for cricket to be back in Pakistan. Did you feel that
when you arrived, did you feel it amongst the locals and what was it like
to do that tour? No it was great to be able to be part of
the Australian team that went back to Pakistan for the first time. It was
pretty special, pretty disappointed by the crowds in the test matches to be honest
I thought having cricket back in
Pakistan being such a cricket loving nation, they'd show up
in big numbers and I was a bit disappointed by that. Watching on the
tele, it looked basically empty except for a few corporates.
I was a bit disappointed by that but still it was great to be able to
take cricket back there. The cricketing world smithy, Dean Jones not so
long ago and then Rod Marsh which was forgotten about because of the timing
with Warney and then of course only last week with Roy.
I'm still in shock around Warney let alone everyone else, it's just
unbelievable. It is yeah, it's incredibly sad
I think we just finished Dave's play in Pakistan and we hopped
on the bus and Davey Warner had just got off the phone to his manager
who was Warney's manager and he just said Warney's just passed
away and we were like what? He's like no seriously, which was pretty yeah
it was a shock to everyone I suppose, really sad and yeah
just all four guys that have passed away are all sort of legends
in their own right and it's been a tough year
for the cricketing world. Roy again happened on that weekend
a week or so back and you know I only saw him a few months earlier, went
out in the boat, got seasick, caught a couple of fish but
again one of these larger than life characters like Warney that
just seemed that they were going to live forever. Just very
sad isn't it? Been a tragic 12 to 18 months for
Australian cricket. Yeah and Warney
getting the grandstand named after him you know that's going to be an amazing
boxing day test. I imagine they'll open it formally then and you guys will be on the ground
and you know someone will be storming in to you from the Shane Warney
and that's probably the best we can give him because he can live in our lives
forever that way. Yeah absolutely it's very fitting isn't it for someone who
achieved as much as he did in our game and yeah the character he was
so yeah absolutely more than fitting. Smithy let's talk about the best
players you've ever played against and with. People always love
these questions so who's that bowler, who's that batsman,
who's that someone that you would pay money to see play?
So three questions in one there if you can. As in players playing
now or? Yeah I know forever whatever. I always enjoyed watching
Sachin Tendulkar play. I've actually got him out so
happy with that? Rare one I don't
know how he got out to me to be honest. So what was the delivery and how did he get out?
A beautiful top spinner, lunged forward, caught bat pad. How many?
I don't know how many he was on. 230? No I don't think so.
I can't remember but yeah it was probably. What's it like when you get Sachin Tendulkar out?
It was a bit strange I mean I didn't expect to get him out
so yeah no look he was a freak
I really loved the way he played and just the elegance I guess that he had
when he was out batting so. And the pressure of a whole nation of a billion
plus people every time he walks to the wicket that must be really
hard to deal with. Yeah so I don't think they liked me that day.
Yeah of course yeah you see guys like Virat Kohli
now and Rohit Sharma and we know how much
Indians love their cricket so having I guess the weight of
them on their shoulders when they're out there playing would no doubt be
tough but also great as well to have that support I suppose.
So Sachin Tendulkar for me would be the one I'd pay to watch.
Okay and who's the best bowler that's ever bowled to you?
Best bowler that's bowled to me? I always found Mourne Morkal quite difficult.
Just with his height and the pace that I guess he bowled.
He wasn't express or he was at times but just felt quicker
with the bounce that he got, the steep bounce from the height that he came from so
he got me out quite a few times so I always found him quite difficult.
I spoke to him the other day because he's going to be part of our
triple M crew for the South African series. Lives in Manly now
you know absolute champion fella. Yeah lovely guy. You just couldn't imagine
him being sort of nasty fast bowler. Well he wasn't I remember
playing a game against him at Centurion and he bowled me a ball and I hit one
back past him it was a beautiful shot went for four. I'm running past him and he's gone
oh great shot or something. I was like what?
What did you say? You got Dale Stane up the other end going
nuts and then he's like too nice. I'm like geez alright
interesting. Yeah well sometimes you can get people out by being nice or just
knocks them off their course. Well it did knock me off yeah I was surprised.
I went on to get a hundred mind you but
yeah it was a bit strange. Is England the team or the Poms the team that
gets you most fired up the ones you want to beat the most? Of course I mean
yeah an Asha series is I guess the ultimate for an Australian
or English cricketer so they're the ones you want to get yourself up for
you want to have an impact in and yeah the biggest series for
an Australian or English cricketer so yeah absolutely. They've got a Kiwi in charge now
so that's interesting and they've got an Aussie in charge of their white ball so they've made
some changes Archer out with his injury that's a real shame for international
cricket not necessarily for people that have to face him but for a player
of his talent and just watchability I
suppose it's to say that his body's letting him down. Yeah it is he's still
pretty young and you know fast bowlers that happens you know
the stress that they put through their body can happen so I'm
sure he'll make a recovery at some point and you know have
an extended run where well fingers crossed for him that he has an extended run
where he's not injured and can get some good cricket under his belt but
yeah obviously feeling for him now he had an elbow issue and now he's got a
back issue so yeah hopefully he makes a good recovery and can be back
on the park sometime soon. He's a bowler that obviously was difficult to face
and he's hit you so forth as well as we well documented
so after the ban in South Africa you came back for that Asha series and
talking at the ban just for a moment from my point of view I sort of I'm
happy that we got to know each other and I'm happy that you've saved
some lives by spending that time with me talking to schools and
talking to cricketers about life can be tough it's how you bounce back.
Absolutely. You then came back into that Asha series
and had such an unbelievable series how did you do
that? I don't know belief hard work
experience and just like we sort of touched on earlier getting
in that zone I just happened to get in the zone on a few occasions
where yeah I was in a good place and felt like I was going to score runs and
yeah it was an amazing series to be a part of and to
perform the way I did there it was very pleasing and yeah loved it loved every
minute of it. I really enjoy playing in England it's great it's a great place to
play cricket the fans were obviously very vocal and getting
stuck in and I think that sometimes can bring the best out of me trying to
prove people wrong or shut them up in a way.
Do you hear the chance do you hear the because with the Barmy
Army I've spent a lot of time with them a lot of it's tongue in cheek and you know as soon as
you prove yourself and score runs they'll be the first ones to stand and clap.
I don't so much hear words I kind of hear
just the melody of whatever song and that gets stuck in my head
and I'll be out there just like humming to it.
I love the Jimmy Anderson song the Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy
Jimmy Anderson so I'll just be like humming that and singing along
to it and you know weird stuff gets in your head when you're in the middle but no I don't
really pay attention to like words or anything like that.
Your last innings of that series probably the innings you didn't score as many runs as
you had done before and you walked off and they really then said
okay we'll give this bike a clap because it was brilliant. What was that moment like for
you walking off the field that day? Yeah that was pretty cool yeah just to
have I guess perhaps like changed opinions or being
able to win them over I suppose in a way was was cool and
didn't sort of set out to do that initially it was just about performing but
proving people wrong as well which I guess I did on that that occasion.
Yeah and it was it was a cool moment. You look back on the time that we spent together
through that period of the band the fact that you put yourself
out there you were vulnerable you showed
kids that it was okay to be vulnerable how does that make you feel now looking
back the work you did it got you for life? It's been great it's certainly given me
a different perspective on life being able to speak to
young kids about you know being open and honest and
having difficult conversations and being okay with
not being well or not being okay potentially saving a few people's
lives as well was tough to hear but special I suppose
in a way and yeah I think I grew a lot
throughout the 12 months that I was band and working together with you
and yeah just helped me grow into a more sort of rounded individual.
It was special. Yeah and I know you don't you're much happier talking about other people than yourself
so I understand that's not an easy question so I must admit though in
Adelaide Pat Cummins can't be captain the CU walk out
for the toss and standing there on Triple M
seeing you walk out and then talking to you after the test match after having success
as individually as well as a team was one of my sort of proudest
moments what was it like to be captain again even under those circumstances of
Patty having COVID and not being able to lead? It all happened really quickly it was
yeah it was what time did you we found out like nine or ten in the morning of
the of the test? I reckon you found out before me then I
think I was around like 10 o'clock 10 10 30. Well rumors came
through we're all at breakfast together at the Adelaide Oval yeah saying Smithy's gonna captain
Cummins is out and people like what didn't quite realize why because there
was no injury to Pat yeah and then COVID and everyone goes fucking COVID.
Close contact yeah yeah so no it was it was special to
put the blazer on again. Did you have your own blazer there? I was trying to work out
because we're thinking Patty's gonna make it look way too big
on you. Yeah and it did I think
so no I normally get told to take it around with me just
in case but didn't expect anything to happen I don't think I'd been home
either no I hadn't been home so we came straight from World Cup
to Gold Coast Brisbane test and then straight to Adelaide so I hadn't
had a chance to collect it anyway so it was my fault but
yeah no it was it was cool to lead again
I loved it and to think throughout my career when I've
been captain it sort of brought the best out of my performances as well so
would have been nice to have converted that 93 I think I got into 100
but it wasn't to be but yeah we still won the test match and it was a it was a great test match.
And how are you you and Patty obviously now this combination has worked
so well Ashes you know the well T20 are obviously
a bit different with Vinci in charge but and then Pakistan it seems
to have just folded in really nicely the two of you seem to be
in a good place. Yeah my job's to help out as much as I can
and particularly out on the field I've played a lot of cricket now
I stand at slip I get a good view of what's going on so
I make suggestions regularly and then it's up to Patty
to make a decision from there but you know I just try and help in any way that I can
to help the team have success and that's my job. And fielding
in the slips how's that been for you because you dropped a few that you normally
wouldn't and people are like right he's so good everywhere else why is he
in the slips what's your thoughts around that? Honestly the ones I've dropped in
Pakistan it was as tough as I've conditions as I've filled
it in people probably can't quite see it on the television but
I felt like I was back playing under 12s I was standing so close
the wickets were just so benign and no bounce and the bowlers are always
like we prefer you drop it than the ball land in front of you
so we're standing incredibly close. And it was hot too
right? And it was warm but yeah that's used to that that's no real excuse
but just how close we were standing was I've never stood that close
in my life so the reaction time was you had to be if you took a
catch it should be considered an incredibly good catch if you had to move it
all for a catch amazing. Right. So I think Cameron Green took one
where it was quite down low and it was an amazing catch he was standing just
next to me and we were so close so. Yeah probably didn't come across that
way. Nah. Because there wasn't so many wickets every drop catch of course
was a highlight. Yeah of course yeah I understand that so
look it was tough but yeah look I still work incredibly hard on my
fielding it's something I pride myself on and everyone drops them so
you can't dwell too much on it. It is one of the worst things to do on the field
though you drop a catch you want to dig in dig in a hole and
just hide in there so it is something I pride myself on so
I work very hard on it. Of course and I think the reason why you got brought up so often
is because you don't drop them that often so you know it's a bit of a double-edged
sword there for you. Last question before we go to the fast five which is sort of the
fun bit to sort of end if you like. Okay. Resilience is a bit of a buzzword in
the sporting world and we talk to kids all the time about
having resilience and working hard but also having that part of you
that allows you to be human and not strive to be perfect all the time.
What's your thoughts around resilience and that balance
of being the best in the world at what you do but also being a human
being? Good question yeah for me I think
and sort of a value that I live by particularly when I'm playing
is like being adaptable and resilient so being able to
adapt according to whatever the situation demands and then
in terms of resilience being able to get through difficult
periods so with my batting you know if someone's bowling a really good
spell just being able to rein it in and be like this guy's got four or five
overs we get through this it'll get easier so I think that
is resilient I suppose in a way. Oh totally.
And then yeah just being comfortable with setbacks
in a way off the field I suppose being able to grow and
make mistakes and learn from them and keep moving forward
not dwelling too much on them being in that present moment but being able to move
past it and move forward and stay in a good headspace
which I think you need people around you to be able to get into
that space being able to talk honestly and openly about what you're
going through and have those people around you that help get you through.
I remember you telling a bunch of kids at Shaw School one morning we went in
there and did like a 45 minute chat you and I then we went into a room and you
spoke to the first 15 and the second 15 if you can remember and one kid said
I'm 12 not out we're chasing 170 what do you think
my mindset should be for tomorrow you know and you said don't leave it up to anyone
else you're in position you get a not out you win the game
and this kid was like oh it's so simple we over complicate
stuff at times especially in sport don't we absolutely
it is about keeping it as simple as possible and for me
personally I just don't enjoy watching the game as much as
playing in a way when I'm playing it so yeah
I want to be the one out there doing it I want to be in the middle batting and getting the
job done so yeah it's far it's much more fun out in the middle than
sitting back in the shed and talking rubbish with all your mates.
There's plenty of time for that. Absolutely. Okay Smithy the Fast Five
your favourite holiday destination? New York. Beautiful and why New York?
Just love the pace of the city always something going on always something to
do and just a great vibe. Yeah sure is. Your favourite movie?
Hmm favourite movie I really liked one I watched recently
Draft Day. Oh so good Kevin Costner. Just hang
with him for those last few minutes you'll make it happen. Yeah. Yeah great.
So sporting movies are? Yeah I like my sporting movies yeah
I liked probably a bit of a touchy subject but the King Richard
Oh yeah. Have you seen that one? Yeah well it is a touchy subject
it's a slappy subject. It is but geez it was
a pretty cool story. Yeah well I saw a documentary on the making
of that movie and if people don't know it's the Father of the William
Sisters they did a documentary of the William Sisters walking onto the set
I don't know if you've seen that? No. It's fantastic so the girls
that are playing Venus and Serena yeah are just sort of sitting there chatting
to the crew and all of a sudden they look around and Serena and Venus are there
and they just like go to water and all of a sudden they come in they're hugging
and they spend the day on the set and they watch them and the girls just could
not act in front of them it just couldn't you know just like they've got to go away like I can't
I can't be them with them just there and it made me want to watch the movie then I
watched it and then of course Buggalikes did
have you got a favourite quote a saying something that you live
your life by or something that someone said to you and you went oh that makes sense
or that puts things in perspective? Sort of live by like just trust
myself and back myself usually your gut's pretty good
so trust your gut and have confidence in yourself. Yeah so you do it without
even realising it's a thing it's just it's what you've always done. Yep. Are you a reader?
Have you got a favourite book? Yeah I really like Andre Agassi
book actually another sporting one obviously love my sport yeah the Andre Agassi
story was pretty cool as well. I'll tell you a story Jacko Madison
Square Gardens Christmas Day the Nets always play on Christmas Day I don't know if you've done that
yet. No. So if you're there for Christmas normally not with your family of course so you go
to the basketball. So one of our mates is here Marcos is a complete lunatic
red headed clown from Queensland he won't mind me saying that so he's got the
kilo bag of skittles. Yep. He's trying to open them and they're sitting right on the
court right Jacko's got the best seats right next to a couple of other movie stars
but you know the waxiness on some of those packs sometimes you can't quite get your teeth under
it so it's slipping and so forth and he's trying to rip it and eventually he goes for the
for the pull from one side to another and the bag explodes
and launches these one kilogram of skittles
across the basketball court right and the games going on so all of a sudden whistles are coming
in players are stopping the bokes are out there trying to sweep
like they normally sweep in this way and Jacko's just looking at Marcos going mate
and it's on Google you can look at it
it's this huge Jacko Madison Square Gardens just looking at Marcos going
are you right mate? So they go to a commercial break
that takes hold on the clean up this lady comes over and goes look Hugh
because of the they've had to go commercial break we've got a bit more time now
for half time and we're wondering if you could just get up
as a bit of an apology and talk about what you got for Christmas and so forth
and it was the Agassi book that Agassi had sent to Jacko and he said
look I got it I've only started reading it this morning I read a couple of chapters
and it's one of his favourite books because he sort of understands that for Agassi he'd be
perfect for this podcast people that don't necessarily have it go all their way
their own way they have to work hard at getting where they get their success
when I hear the Agassi book that story always comes to mind
and last one mate favourite charity who you'd like to give the 10k to because
Shaun Partners where we're sitting today are giving every one of our guests
10 grand to give to a charity of their choice. It's very generous
my charity of choice will be Gotcha for Life of course Gus
love the work that I've done with you and for Gotcha for Life
so let's send the 10 grand there and hopefully it makes a difference to
some young kids and people that are going through some tough times
yeah no that will definitely do that we've sort of worked it out that every 40 dollars
that is raised now puts another kid or another person into the workshop
so it's a nice tangible way of looking at where the money goes
so you think of that 40 dollars divided into 10k a lot of people
that wouldn't get that workshop and every person that comes out of the workshop
has a little bit more of an idea of how to get through the type of stuff that life has
thrown at them it gives them that little bit of emotional muscle and it gives
them a little bit of confidence to go I'm not alone here because they walk into a
workshop they look around and go like last week at Avalon Surf Life Saving Club
we have 256 blokes turn up and they all walked in Smithy thinking
they were the only ones that were going to be there so all of a sudden they go oh I'm not alone
I can build a bit of a team around me to be able to help me get through this
and the workshop can certainly be a part of that so thank you very much from the bottom
of my heart and thanks for everything you've done for gotcha and I know your schedule is
hard but I think every time we can have a chat in front of schools
or do a video that goes out to cricketers like we've done
I think will help people with their mental fitness so thanks mate and good luck
for the season ahead. My pleasure thank you. Good on you mate.
Well that was Steve Smith and what I loved about that chat is I know how much
Steve has grown as a person since the ban in South Africa I've
seen it. I've seen the fact that he walks in the schools he's been real
and his honesty has allowed him to save people's lives so
to sit down with him and to find out some stuff I didn't know was fascinating
Coming up next on Not An Overnight Success is Sean Bonnet
Sean is an incredibly successful entrepreneur and property developer
who founded and is CEO of Precision Group. Sean is the kind
of person that seems like everything he touches turns to gold but his
business mindset is quite different from what you might assume someone of his success
holds. I think you'll really enjoy hearing from him. A big thank you to
Sean Partners Financial Services who have generously supported this podcast
and also donated $10,000 to the charity of choice of
each of our guests to thank them for their time. Sean Partners are an Australian
investment and wealth management firm who manage over $28 billion
of assets under advice. With seven offices around Australia
Sean Partners Act for and on behalf of individuals, institutions
corporates and charities. For more info you can check out their website
at www.shawnpartners.com.au that's S-H-A-W
for sure. Sean Partners Financial Services your partners in building
and preserving wealth.