• Watch: Steve Smith scuffs the wicket

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    Steve Smith has come under fire for seemingly attempting to remove the guard marks of India batsman Rishabh Pant after the tea break.

    Smith can be seen on the stump camera strolling on to the wicket and scuffing out the previously set marks. Pant was on strike at the time and forced to ask for new guard marks when he got to the crease.

    In this case, a possible relevant section of the ICC Code of Conduct is section 2.10 regarding ‘unfair play’. It states that a ‘fielder causing deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch’ can be a level 1 or 2 offence.

    Smith has courted controversy in the past, most recently as Australia captain against South Africa in 2019, where he oversaw sandpaper being used to scuff up the ball. He was banned from all cricket for a year thereafter.

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    Ryan Vrede