Before his team takes on Australia, English captain Eoin Morgan said that he will not stop the fans from booing of Smith and Warner.
Earlier in the tournament, Steve Smith was booed by English supporters in their warm-up games, to which Steve Smith paid no attention. In India Australia game, when the crowd was booing, Virat Kohli stopped them and asked the crowd to applaud Smith. Both Smith and Warner were banned from playing cricket for a year for tampering the ball.
Morgan said, “Sport is beautiful in many ways, but cricket is the romantic sport of all sports. I would never use the position I’m in to influence fans or try to change the game in some way. They have committed something and they have served their penalty. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are welcomed back with open arms into the cricket community.”
David Warner and Steve Smith can expect a frosty reception at Lord’s tomorrow… #ENGvAUS #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/FfdqTlIAGp
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 24, 2019
When asked about the reception his players may receive, Australia captain Aaron Finch said players cannot control the views of the fans.
“Even if someone comes out and says ‘do’ or ‘don’t’, it’s going to happen, it hasn’t affected our boys one bit. I can honestly say that.”
Finch continued, “As a player, you don’t tend to hear a lot from the fans. That is the last thing on Steve or Davey’s mind when they walk out to bat.”
Jonny Bairstow: Australia’s ‘we can do it to you, but you cannot do it to us’ mentality on booing ‘is a bit strange’
Aaron Finch responds to all the furore ? #CWC19 #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/vCy0gUEkF3
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 24, 2019
England has not won a world cup game against Australia since 1992. The arch-rivals will play against each other on Tuesday at Lord’s.
