"Smith's Men Have an Air of Humility vs. Windies "

Humility is not a word easily located in the handbook of Australian cricket, but it is one of the emergent traits of Steve Smith's team. Even in a contest of pulse-slowing inequality, Smith's bowlers followed humble lines and workmanlike lengths.

Even with a 280-run lead over a spirit-sapped opponent, Smith's refusal to enforce the follow-on raised questions about whether law 13 had any more relevance than the human appendix. Amid the swamp of lament over West Indian cricket, it was as if Smith and his men still saw the ogres of the 1980s under those crimson skull-caps, and treated them with due respect. If it was a little dull, it was refreshingly so.

Earlier Australian outfits, intent on standover tactics, would have tried to blast the West Indians out, belittle them verbally, and take the chance to embarrass their manhood. The strength of those teams, when they were strong, was their self-belief. Their weakness was hubris and overreach.

via TeamStre.am by Bleacher Report

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