Gobsmacked Steve Smith lashes out after cricket legend Matthew Hayden branded current star's batting on India tour 'un-Australian' Hayden criticised star for lack of aggression Australia has struggled for runs on India tour Stand-in skipper Smith was unimpressed By Oliver Caffrey For Australian Associated Press Published: 23:14 GMT, 8 March 2023 | Updated: 23:14 GMT, 8 March 2023 e-mail 8 View comments Steve Smith has called out Australia legend Matthew Hayden for criticising Peter Handscomb's batting as 'un-Australian'. The acting captain took exception to Hayden's comments about Handscomb during Australia's memorable nine-wicket win against India in Indore last week. Hayden, arguably Australia's greatest Test opener, was confused by Handscomb's knock during the first innings as the Victorian scored a defiant 19 from 98 balls. '[Handscomb's] strike rate of under 20 means that you are not going anywhere, and the scoreboard is not going anywhere, and that's a product of some really tough batting conditions . . . he was sort of like a sitting duck in many ways,' Hayden said in commentary. Smith was shocked by Hayden's call on Peter Handscomb's batting on the Indian tour and sprang to his teammate's defence Hayden (pictured at November's T20 World Cup in Melbourne) wasn't happy with Handscomb's slow scoring as the Aussies struggled for runs in the first three Tests 'It's almost un-Australian. I don't want anyone out there to think that I'm overly criticising Pete, I'm not. 'It's just not quite attacking enough. It's such a tricky balance. ' Smith was asked about Handscomb during his press conference ahead of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad, saying the 31-year-old had enjoyed an 'outstanding' series. 'The first two Test matches [31 and 72 not out] in the first innings of both and left pretty much stranded,' Smith said on Wednesday. 'I was pretty disappointed to see some of the comments last Test match around him not playing the Australian way. 'He's batted the same in the first innings throughout the whole series. 'His method has proved it's worked in difficult conditions. Smith pointed out that Handscomb (pictured at the crease in the third Test in India) has been one of the side's top two batsmen in the disastrous series 'So I was shocked to see some comments about the way he was playing, because I think him and 'Uzzy' [Usman Khawaja] have probably been arguably our two best batters in this series. ' Hayden had been unhappy with the current Australia team players immediately following his best friend Justin Langer's messy exit as coach. In an interview last month, Hayden said he had moved on and vowed to help Australian players out if they required any advice on how to bat in India. Hayden's legendary Test career took off when he smashed 549 runs at an average of 109. 80 during Australia's famous tour of India in 2001. Share or comment on this article: Steve Smith lashes out after Aussie cricket legend Matthew branded star's batting 'un-Australian' e-mail Add comment Comments 8 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have not been moderated. View all The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Add your comment Enter your comment By posting your comment you agree to our house rules . Submit Comment Clear Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. No Yes Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy . .