Shane Warne accuses Steve Smith of 'bad captaincy'

Perth: Legendary Australian leg spinner Shane Warne has accused current skipper Steve Smith of 'bad captaincy' for his handling of off spinner Nathan Lyon during the team's current struggle against South Africa in the ongoing Test of the three-match series in Perth.

Smith gave only 12 overs to Lyon on Day Three as temperatures soared into the high 30s, thus drawing criticism from Warne, who believes the skipper's snubbing of the off-spinner would have sapped the latter's confidence.

"It wasn't like the ball was hopping around corners yesterday, they couldn't take a wicket. I thought it was a bit weird Nathan Lyon didn't bowl one over. He bowled 12 overs on a 37-degree day and the quicks bowled their hearts out," Warne was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.

"To me it's bad captaincy because you're trying to get the best out of the players. To bowl him for 12 overs, his confidence will be low," he added.

In the ongoing first Test at the WACA, the Proteas are currently in the driver's seat and a few wickets away from taking 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series.