Former SCG curator unhappy with remarks made by Steve Smith

The former Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) curator, Tom Parker, recently expressed his disappointment over the remarks that the Australian captain Steve Smith had made about the venue. Smith had come with harsh criticism for the pitch at the SCG after the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and NSW last season. A few days prior to that game, South Africa had humiliated Australia at the same venue in a Test match.

Soon, the venue was voted as the worst First Class venue in Australia. Tom Parker did not quite say anything back then. But now, when he retired from the position of the chief curator of the SCG on Thursday, he made his opinions vocal. As per the quotes in Stuff.co.nz, he mentioned that a person of the calibre of Steve Smith should not have made such remarks. He added that if a person has an off day, they cannot put the blame on the pitch for their woes.

“That was very disappointing. Especially when the match referee clearly stated it was an unfair criticism. I’m always accepting of criticism but just because someone has had a bad day … every excuse under the sun was used for me to be the fall guy. The problem is when you get someone of that stature mark it as poor everyone stands up and says there must be something wrong. You’ll never beat an elite sportsperson,” quoted Parker.

Adam Lewis takes over

Parker retired from his position after serving for a couple of decades. Adam Lewis has been named as the new chief curator of the venue. Lewis might well be in a position to prepare the match for the expected decider contest of the Ashes 2017-18. Parker hopes that Lewis manages to grasp the little things that the people are often concerned about.

“I just hope in situations like that that the new curator can grasp those things and try and always fight for the truth,” Parker mentioned.