Aussie captain’s dig at Oval groundstaff

AUSTRALIA captain Steve Smith vented his irritation at the Oval groundstaff after rain deprived his side of victory over Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy. The Australians will almost certainly need to beat England on Saturday to reach the semi-finals after the British climate left them nursing one point for a washout for the second game in a row. But if Friday’s bad weather at Edgbaston saved them from probable defeat by New Zealand, they were less grateful here. This was nothing less than day-night robbery. Smith said: ‘The groundsmen perhaps could have shown a bit more urgency, with it being a big tournament. I was happy to keep batting through the rain. ‘There was a drinks break which probably didn’t help. If the game had carried on perhaps the umpires would have had a different opinion. But to be fair it was raining quite heavily.’ Set 183 after Bangladesh had collapsed alarmingly, Australia cruised to 83 for one from 16 overs when rain swept in from the south around 6.45pm. Agonisingly, they were four overs short of the 20 required to constitute a game, and miles ahead of the required rate. But when a gap in the clouds encouraged hopes of an 8.30pm restart, another deluge arrived — and stayed put. With more rain forecast for England’s match against New Zealand at Cardiff today, the Champions Trophy is in danger of disappearing down the plughole. When England and Wales played host four years ago, seven of the 15 matches were affected by weather. So far this time, it’s three out of five. The Bangladesh innings was a suitably miserable affair, with the exception of Tamim Iqbal. After starting the tournament with 128 against England, he fought a lone hand against Australia, seventh out for 95 in a total of 182. While Tamim hit six fours and three sixes, his teammates — only two of whom reached double figures — managed three fours and one six between them. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa took a wicket in each of his first two overs before Mitchell Starc finished the job with four wickets in nine balls — including Tamim, top-edging to long leg. Remarkably, Bangladesh can still qualify, but they need England to win their last two games, and they themselves must beat New Zealand on Friday. The maths in Group A are becoming almost as much of a headache for the ICC as the British summer.