Bat has final say
A TEAM meeting on crowd abuse helped David Warner handle the heat as he anchored Australia’s run chase in yesterday’s easy World Cup win against Afghanistan.
A week after Steve Smith’s century was booed as he crushed England in a warmup match, Warner’s scratchy yet unbeaten 89 delivered Australia a seven-wicket win with 91 balls to spare.
“There were nerves getting back into the (Australian) camp and getting back into the full intensity of training,” Warner said. “I was a little bit more relaxed once Finchy (captain Aaron Finch) started going.”
Australia held a meeting to help players deal with crowd hostility at last month’s training camp in Brisbane.
Coach Justin Langer pleaded with English fans to show Smith and Warner respect but it took just 13 balls for that to be ignored, when Warner was booed as he fetched the ball after Afghanistan’s first boundary.
The slashing opener then had his first two boundaries booed while his half-century received a mixed reception.
A man and a woman dressed up as giant sheets of sandpaper in an apartment balcony overlooking the ground, rubbing a giant cardboard cricket ball against themselves, while the predominantly Afghanistan crowd also chanted: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, cheat, cheat, cheat.”
But while the Bristol locals bristled, Warner warmed up for Thursday’s match against West Indies with his biggest ODI score in England – his best ODI knock in 611 days.
“I like that knock. Just do what needs to be done for the team,” all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (2/37) said.
“Perfect – be not out, get the job done, nice and clinical. That’s what the best players do. “They have off days and they still make 80-odd not out, 90 not out, it’s a good start for him and good to spend time in the middle.
“Davey’s a determined individual every single day. Maybe people think he’s got a point to prove but I don’t.”
Warner struggled early – his first 56 balls produced just two fours – but Finch’s fluency meant there was no urgency.
The five-time World Cup champions have now won 42 out of their past 45 completed World Cup games.
“Obviously, we copped it in the warm-up game against England, too. But we are expecting it,” legspinner Adam Zampa (3/60) said of the crowd abuse.