Aaron Finch has offered an unusual perspective on what the 2018 ball-tampering scandal meant for Steve Smith's development as a batter. The incident at Cape Town on March 24, 2018, when Cameron Bancroft used sandpaper to alter the ball against South Africa, triggered sanctions that reshaped Australian cricket leadership. Smith faced a 12-month playing suspension and a two-year bar from holding any captaincy role across all formats.

Finch, speaking on an ESPNcricinfo show, argued that the two-year captaincy restriction proved more beneficial to Smith's batting than the playing suspension itself. The former Australia white-ball captain said the difference became visible soon after Smith returned to the international setup. Smith's removal from the captaincy, Finch suggested, freed him from a burden that had weighed on his performance.

"After the 2018 incident, coming back into the international setup, Steve Smith was more relaxed as a player because he didn't have the captaincy for obvious reasons," Finch said in the aforementioned source.

How did captaincy affect Smith's preparation?

Finch explained the specific pressures that captaincy placed on Smith's preparation and mindset.

"As captain, so much of your time goes into things away from your own game, Finch said. The challenge, he elaborated, was that Smith's demanding preparation schedule collided with the demands of leading the team. Getting the amount of work he wanted done put extra pressure on him mentally, because you need to get this much work done to feel ready to go, but you've still got to worry about everybody else," Finch said.

What sets Smith apart from other elite batters?

Finch was unequivocal in his assessment of Smith's standing among contemporary batters.

"He's the best player I've ever played with by a mile, Finch said. Finch highlighted Smith's willingness to pursue an unconventional path if it served his performance goals. He says, I'm doing it this way, I don't care what it looks like to the outside world. This is what will make me most successful," Finch said.

Finch went further in explaining what separated Smith from other elite players with similar talent and work ethic.

"To see what he does when others can't, you can't explain why players like me or David Warner couldn't do it, but he could. It's a natural gift, but also hard work, the hours he's put in," Finch said.

Smith's performance during the 2019 Ashes series provided evidence supporting Finch's argument about the benefits of his captaincy-free period. Smith returned from his ban to score 774 runs across four Tests at an average of 110.57, having missed one match due to concussion. Australia retained the urn, and no player on either side came within 300 runs of Smith's tally in the series.