Sydney Sixers skipper Moises Henriques has confirmed that Babar Azam was “quite upset” when Steven Smith turned down an easy single during last week’s derby against the Sydney Thunder – but insists the episode is now behind the pair.
Key moment
With one ball left in the 11th over, Smith opted to keep the strike for the first over of the Power Surge, eyeing a short boundary. Babar pushed the ball to long-on, called Smith through, and saw his partner stay put. Smith then pummeled a Big Bash League-record 32 from the next over.
Two overs later, the tables turned. Smith belatedly agreed to a second run from the final delivery of the 12th, meaning Babar faced Nathan McAndrew at the start of the 13th. The Pakistan star dragged his first ball on, lashed the boundary rope with his bat, and spent the rest of the match inside.
Henriques’ view
“It took a couple of days for that to settle down,” Henriques told Fox Cricket during Friday’s Qualifier against Perth. “To be honest, think it’s just a bit of a misunderstanding of culture of each other.”
He added: “It’s a pretty common thing in our culture, and maybe for him (Babar) he wasn’t used to it and didn’t quite understand. Once it was explained to him he was absolutely fine. They’ve kissed and made up and it’s two of the greats back friendly again.”
The captain and long-time coach Greg Shipperd spoke to Babar behind closed doors. “[We are] always trying to understand…we could visibly see he was quite upset with what happened on the field, so we needed to try and understand why he felt that way. Once we got to the bottom of it, it was okay.”
Smith on the partnership
Before Tuesday’s meeting with Brisbane Heat, Smith reported no lingering friction. “He’s good, we chatted before. I thought he batted really nicely the other night, we had a good partnership and put on a few.”
Form check
Babar arrived as one of the headline overseas signings but has managed 202 runs in 11 innings, striking at 103 – well below his international standards. The lean stretch continued in the Qualifier, where he fell for a second-ball duck chasing 148 against Perth.
Smith, meanwhile, remains central to the Sixers’ hopes; his strike-retention ploy paid off in immediate runs even if it briefly ruffled feathers. Henriques is confident the incident has been parked, saying the squad “understand each other a bit better now”.
The Sixers face an eliminator on neutral turf this weekend, and both marquee batters are expected to line up. Whether the crease is big enough for two communicative singles this time will be worth watching, but for now the camp insists harmony has been restored.
