Steve Smith warned by umpires after batter was seen urging Bangladesh players to take DRS review

Steve Smith was warned by the on-field umpires on August 22, 2026, after he stepped in to urge Bangladesh fielders to challenge an LBW decision that had already been ruled in his favour during Day 1 of the second Test in Mackay.

The incident unfolded in the 9th over of the Australian innings. Taskin Ahmed struck Smith on the pads and went up for the appeal, but umpire Nitin Menon turned it down. Taskin remained unconvinced and began lobbying Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto to take a review. Smith then walked halfway down the pitch and joined the conversation from the batting end.

"I'm halfway down the wicket to him, it's going miles over," Steve Smith was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.

Shortly after the exchange, both on-field umpires walked up to Smith and held a brief conversation with him. Once that discussion concluded, play resumed. Smith was later dismissed during the Australian innings, though the mode and bowler were not confirmed in the supplied evidence.

The Decision Review System is designed to be used at the discretion of the fielding captain, without any input from the batting side. A batter who actively participates in a fielding team's review discussion therefore moves into territory that sits outside the accepted boundaries of on-field conduct.

Under the ICC Code of Conduct, players are expected to uphold the spirit of the game at all times. The umpires' decision to approach Smith directly and speak with him suggests they viewed his involvement as a breach of that standard. No formal charge or match referee action was reported at the time of writing, and the matter appeared to be settled through the on-field warning alone.

Before the Smith incident drew attention during the Australian innings, the day had already produced a remarkable bowling performance. Australia won the toss and chose to field, and Mitchell Starc tore through Bangladesh's batting line-up to finish with figures of 6 wickets for 12 runs as the visitors were bowled out for just 64.

Starc takes 6/12, moves past Steyn in Test wickets list

That spell moved Starc to the top of the all-time WTC wicket-takers list. He now holds 230 wickets from 56 matches, overtaking Australia teammates Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, who each have 225. India's Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah occupy fourth and fifth positions with 195 and 185 wickets respectively.

Starc's six-wicket haul also pushed him to the summit of the wicket-takers' chart in the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle. He has taken 54 wickets from 10 Tests in this cycle, moving one clear of England's Josh Tongue, who has 53.