Last Updated:
Former Australian head coach Lehmann has slammed England’s Barmy Army for targeting Steve Smith with sandpaper sledge.
Australia legend slams England’s Barmy Army. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Former Australian head coach Darren Lehmann has slammed England’s Barmy Army for using sandpaper sledge against Steve Smith in the first Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series. Smith, who is one of the greatest Test batters of all time, was Australia’s stand-in captain in the series opener at Optus Stadium in Perth, and he was targeted by travelling England fans for his involvement in the 2018 sandpapergate scandal that rocked Australian cricket. Smith was one of the three cricketers banned by Cricket Australia for his involvement in tampering with the ball with sandpaper during the March 2018 Test played against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town.
According to Lehmann, who was the head coach of the Australian team during that tour of South Africa, the players have already paid the price for ball-tampering, and the relentless borderline abuse is unwarranted.
“You copy it every day,” Lehmann revealed on ABC Sport. “Yesterday (at Perth Stadium) I would have copped it maybe 20 or 30 times; obviously we made a mistake, but we paid the price—it borders on abuse.”
Lehmann feels the constant abuse is not good for Smith’s mental health, but he is proud of the way Australian players have handled the issue.
“It’s not great for your mental health, to be perfectly honest,” Lehmann said. “But the way Smith, Warner and Bancroft have come out the other side, that’s been exceptional. I’m really proud of the way they’ve handled it.”
“It’s eight years ago, and you try and move on as best you can, but he (Steve Smith) is still playing every day, so it would be a lot worse for him, the abuse he gets,” Lehmann said.
He targeted Barmy Army and asked if the ones targeting Smith for what happened eight years ago have not done anything wrong in their lives.
“In England they just don’t forget; it’s like they’ve never done anything wrong in their life. The Barmy Army should be better than that, and most of them are—it’s only the ones who drink too much and carry on like pork chops.”
November 25, 2025, 12:35 IST
Read More
