Cricketer Steve Smith accused of ‘defacing an Aussie icon’ with his very well-worn baggy green cap

The 30-year tradition of Test cricketers wearing their baggy green pants until they disintegrate has been called into question, with fans urging Steve Smith to replace his cap and sparking a furious debate online.

A vision of Smith’s baggy green looking decidedly worse emerged during the Adelaide Test against the West Indies, leading a number of shocked fans to wonder why he doesn’t get a new one and even calling him out for “disrespect”.

Australia’s Steve Smith comes out for the coin toss during day one of the second test match in the series between Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide Oval

Ricky Ponting during his final test match in his baggy green cap in very poor condition showing rips, tears and extreme fading

Cricket fan Andrew Dalton tweeted: “Why accept this defacing of an iconic and treasured piece of national pride? Please do better.

He was quickly confronted with a barrage of cricket fans who pointed to the history of top-flight cricket stars wearing the same faded and damaged caps for their entire careers.

‘Surely a worn Baggy Green that has still been cared for and put away after the game rather than just thrown in the kit bag is an even greater mark of respect?’ chimed in a Twitter user named Alex.

‘Nope’, was Dalton’s blunt response.

“Getting the Baggy Green is the proudest moment of my life, I’ll treasure it forever… but I won’t really respect it enough to care for it, more like I respect a dish towel,” Alex added.

You don’t understand tradition. Go and read about it. They will always take one to the max. Stop judging and start investigating,” Perry Delaney responded.

“I hope you ask this guy about the state of his baggy green, champ,” replied Carl Moller with a picture of Steve Waugh and his infamously tattered headdress.

Smith revealed on Tuesday that his cap is badly damaged because rodents ate it while he was playing in Sri Lanka during the July Test series.

“I left him overnight in the Galle dressing room like I do everywhere and the next day I came in and I think the rats had taken over him,” he said. the aussie.

Mark Taylor created the tradition of handing out green slouch hats to debutants in the 1990s and Steve Waugh took it a step further, developing the tradition of bringing back past players to hand out the prized cap to new players.

While each player is offered a new green baggy at the start of each tour, it is considered a mark of respect to wear the same one throughout your career, showing its seniority as it becomes more and more battered.

Justin Langer waves goodbye to the crowd after his last test match in a baggy green that was in pretty bad shape.

Steve Waugh is the man credited with starting the tradition of players wearing the same baggy green cap throughout their careers.

Waugh was the first player to take the field with a cap in very poor condition, while icons like Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer had baggy green caps that were literally falling apart on the final day of their Test races.

“I never contemplated replacing it just because it had aged. I saw the stains, the tears, the fading and the fraying as badges of honor, each imperfection telling a story,” Waugh said.

Ponting’s cap had to be repaired several times, including when the visor fell off, and new rips and tears appeared during his final tryout as players shook their heads in celebration of a catch.

“I don’t have any memories of home cricket anywhere, but this is obviously a bit more special than the rest,” he said during his final test match for Australia.

It may need a makeover or something done to it. It’s been done a couple of times already over the years. So we’ll see what happens with that.

But not all Aussie Test cricketers believed that baggy green was meant to be worn to death and shredded.

When Steve Waugh infamously told players to wear their baggy green caps at Wimbledon, Shane Warne refused and instead wore a regular cap.

Steve Waugh told all Test players to wear their baggy green at Wimbledon, but Shane Warne said ‘nup’ and wore an Oakley cap instead.

Warne wasn’t the biggest fan of baggy green and would much rather wear Greg Chappell’s classic white hat on the field.

“I always believed you didn’t have to wear the baggy green cap to say how much you loved playing cricket for Australia,” he said.

‘So the things they talk about, the baggy green fabric and all these things they talk about, I don’t sign up and buy that.

“I loved playing cricket for Australia, and I didn’t need to wear that cap or have that verbal diarrhea about it, I just enjoyed playing cricket for Australia.

Dean Jones is placed in the slips with Allan Border and Terry Alderman, wearing a very pristine looking baggy green.

The late Dean Jones was another player who took issue with wearing the same baggy green until it disintegrates.

‘I like to see cricketers looking immaculate and pristine. You didn’t see Tiger Woods wear the same cap to win his 14 majors. Nor other athletes, for that matter, over a period of time,” he wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Players have always been allowed to replace their cap with another if they feel it looks torn or worn, but choose not to. I’m sorry but I don’t understand.

“It’s very hard to say anything bad about Australia’s favorite sportsman, but Steve Smith is one of those Aussies whose cap is worn and needs a change.

‘I’m starting to see signs of the white plastic showing through the brim of his cap. It’s time to change it, Smudge.