Review blunders continue to haunt Smith

Dec 15, 2017 - 11:29 AM The poor decision making of Steve Smith has continued, with the Australian skipper wasting two DRS reviews during the third Test against England at the WACA Ground.

But teammate Usman Khawaja has urged Smith not to be afraid to keep trusting his gut.

Smith managed to get his first DRS review right - in somewhat controversial circumstances - when Mark Stoneman was given out caught behind on review despite inconclusive replays of whether the ball hit his glove.

But Smith wasted his next two reviews on risky lbw shouts.

The first came on day one when Dawid Malan was struck high on the pad by Pat Cummins when he was on 64.

The WACA deck had produced plenty of bounce all day, and replays showed the ball was travelling well over the stumps.

Then early on Friday, with Malan yet to add to his overnight score of 110, he was struck low on his pad by a full Mitchell Starc delivery.

Height wasn't the issue this time, but the DRS showed the ball would have slid down the leg slide.

The result meant Australia were left with no more reviews but, luckily for Smith, it didn't come back to bite him as England lost their last six wickets for just 35 runs.

"It wasn't one of them that looked out ... I don't think you're supposed to use your reviews on guessing and hoping," former England Test star Geoff Boycott told BT Sport.

Former Australian spinner Shane Warne said it didn't look out to him either.

He said it was important for players to be more calculated rather than emotional when deciding whether to refer a decision.

Under new rules introduced this year, teams no longer have their allocation of referrals refreshed every 80 overs.

Smith copped plenty of flack during the day-night Test in Adelaide when he wasted two appeals within the space of three balls on day four.

He was even sledged by English fans in the crowd about his blunders.

But Khawaja defended Smith, saying it was much tougher making a decision out on the field compared to sitting at home watching it on TV.

"You don't want to be afraid to use them, because that's what they're there for," Khawaja said.

"If you have a decision go your way and you don't use it, you'd probably feel even worse.

"Sometimes, it can be hit and miss. We haven't been great the last couple of games. But we've got a couple right, too."

Source: AAP