Despite Australian cricket team coach Justin Langer's request not to "boo" Steve Smith and David Warner, the crowd at Bristol booed the Australian batting duo in the Afghanistan vs Australia ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match. Langer had said that both Smith and Warner made a mistake and have paid the price for it - a big price actually, pleaded Australia head coach Justin Langer to the crowd in England. However, the crowd did not pay any heed to Langer's advice and kept booing Warner and Smith. Australia got to a comfortable victory and won the match by 7 wickets, thanks to skipper Aaron Finch's 66 that set the tone for Australia's chase. AUS beat AFG by 7 wickets | Afghanistan vs Australia Highlights And Cricket Score 4th ODI Match.
As soon as Warner reached his fifty, there were audible boos from the crowd. But as soon as Steve Smith came to the ground to bat at the fall of Usman Khwaja's wicket, the boos became much louder. However, regardless of the boos, Warner reached his fifty and guided Australia to victory. However, Smith was dismissed at the score of 18, by Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Afghanistan vs Australia, ICC World Cup 2019 Match Highlights: AUS Beats Afghanistan by Seven Wickets.
Watch the Crowd Booing Warner in the Tweet Below
50 UP 🏏
David Warner cuts for 4 to get over the line. He salutes the crowd to audible boos.
Watch live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup now or follow our live blog here: https://t.co/XktsjQgsSr pic.twitter.com/9dRT5oHC8J
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 1, 2019
Following their stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Australian batsmen flew to the UK for the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. However, they faced booing from the crowd during the World Cup warm-up games. Afghanistan vs Australia Live Cricket Score of ICC World Cup 2019 Match.
Smith and Warner, the then captain and vice-captain, faced a year-long ban from international cricket for their involvement in a ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town last year.
The World Cup will be the first international assignment for the two. "We have talked about it a lot. We are expecting it. That said, when it happens, it doesn't make it any easier. You can take about it as much as you like but that doesn't make it any easier. I mean they are human beings, and that's the truth. That's where I find it hard. I am a dad, and I have got kids.
A lot of the time, players feel like they are my kids," ESPNcricinfo quoted Langer as saying. "And you see that happen. You know you feel for them personally. They are going to have to have thick skin. We have talked about earning respect. I think it is really important that people show some respect as well. Because they are humans, they are really good cricketers. They made a mistake. They have paid the price for it. Big price actually. I feel for them as people more than anything else," he said.
"After the experience of the other day at Hampshire, I think they have got a pretty good idea what to expect. And, as I said, you can talk about it as much as you like, you can put strategies in place to make sure they deal with it, but no human likes it. That is the truth. As professional cricketers, they will put that out of their mind. They will go and do their job but no one likes that," the head coach added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 01, 2019 11:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).