Australia ready for frosty reception
AUSTRALIAN coach Justin Langer and limitedovers captain Aaron Finch said yesterday they were looking forward to playing in front of South African crowds on their first tour since the sandpaper scandal of 2018.
Former captain Steve Smith and batsman David Warner, who were both banned for a year for their role in ball-tampering during the third Test in Cape Town, are both in the team that will play three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals against South Africa, starting with the first T20 game at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday.
BARCELONA have denied trying to boost the image of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu by hiring a company that criticised current and former players, including
Lionel Messi, on social media.
According to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser Cataluna, the PR company I3 Ventures was
“We love coming to South Africa,” said Langer at the team’s arrival press conference.
“We’ve got so many good memories for so long. It was obviously a very hard tour last time but the way our guys have moved on, it gave us a great opportunity to reassess where we’re at in Australian cricket.”
Langer said last year’s tour of England was “a great dress rehearsal” for the likely reception Smith and Warner will face, especially from an expected capacity crowd at the Wanderers.
“It was a tough (England) tour for those two
guys,” said Langer.
Twitter.
“I was really proud of the way they let their bat do the talking and were great ambassadors off the field, so hopefully they’ll be looking forward to getting back into it and playing good cricket here.”
Finch said his team knew what to expect when they stepped on to South African grounds.
“South African crowds are very passionate and very vocal. We’re expecting that. David loves that banter coming from the crowd. It gets him into the game.
“I don’t think it’s going to make much difference to our group. We’re going to play cricket with a smile on our face,” he said. – AFP