‘They’re a bit off me!’ Aussie star’s brutal honesty leaves comm box in stitches

Centurion Steve Smith left commentators in stitches with a hilarious quip for Australian selectors after being overlooked for the national T20 side.

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Dubbed “phenomenal” and “unstoppable”, Smith finished 121 not out off just 64 balls in his side’s 14-run win over the Perth Scorchers on Saturday.

The Aussie star showcased a 360-game as he smashed 10 fours and seven sixes in his stunning innings that had the SCG crowd on their feet.

Speaking after his starring role with the bat, Smith couldn’t resist a cheeky dig at those who overlooked him for Australia’s dismal T20 World Cup campaign and subsequent T20 series.

When asked if he would reach out to T20 selectors, Smith replied: “Yeah I mean, they are a bit off me there, aren’t they so …” as laughter rang out in the commentary box.

“You’re live on air Smudge! So keep it clean,” Smith’s former Australian teammate David Warner laughed.

“Yeahhhh. I don’t know. I’m available for selection but yeah there’s plenty of good batters around the country isn’t there,” Smith continued.

“I’m getting older.

“Some of those young guys smack it a fair way.”

While making his mark in the BBL for the Sixers where he recently averages more than 60, Smith is yet to light it up internationally in the shortened format.

He had made just one half century in his 32 games for Australia since 2019 – with a raft of single digit innings in between.

Dropped from the national side, Smith was also overlooked for the highly lucrative IPL – despite steering the Washington Freedom to their maiden Major League Cricket title as the franchise’s equal leading run-scorer with 336 runs and a strike rate of 148.67.

Warner believes his former teammate has what it takes to return to the top.

“The thing is, these days people want guys that can come out and smack it from ball one,” he said on Fox Cricket.

“But you still have to be able to face the new ball.

“You can have all these guys who can come out and smash the ball from ball one, but it’s the consistency for me.

“He was just hitting boundaries for fun, Steve Smith.”

Fellow ex-teammate Brad Haddin said Smith had turned himself into the power hitter that was demanded for T20 cricket.

“He did it in the American league where they went through undefeated with Ricky Ponting’s team … but his role for the last 10 years (for Australia) has been to bat in the middle and play spin, get off strike and accumulate runs,” he said.

“He’ll be back in the IPL.

“There’s no doubt in my mind about that.

“(Against Perth) Steve Smith scored all around the wicket. He put pressure back on the bowlers… he plays a different role now. He sees himself as a power hitter.

“It was an absolute masterclass from Smith.”

Thanks to Smith’s power hitting, the Sixers were on to record 3-220 before claiming a 14-run win.