‘Smith, Warner must ride the storm in South Africa’

Published February 14, 2020
Both were jeered relentlessly by English crowds during last year’s one-day World Cup and the following Ashes series. — AFP/File
Both were jeered relentlessly by English crowds during last year’s one-day World Cup and the following Ashes series. — AFP/File

SYDNEY: Steve Smith and David Warner will be ready for whatever South African crowds throw at them when the Australia batsmen return to the nation two years after the ball-tampering scandal, paceman Josh Hazlewood has said.

The pair will fly out with the Australia squad on Friday for a limited overs tour in the duo’s first visit to the country since serving 12-month bans for their parts in the tampering plot during the Cape Town Test.

Both were jeered relentlessly by English crowds during last year’s one-day World Cup and the following Ashes series, and Hazlewood said they would be unfazed by more hostility.

“Steve and Dave have ticked off pretty much every box since coming back,” Hazlewood told reporters in Sydney on Thursday. “It’s just another one of those and I don’t think it’ll faze them one bit. They probably play better when it’s like this. It’s nothing we haven’t experienced before ... we’ll be fine.”

Both Smith and Warner have thrived since returning to the national fold after their bans expired last March.

Smith played a leading role in Australia’s retention of the Ashes while Warner was awarded the Allan Border Medal for the third time on Monday as the country’s top cricketer in 2019.

Local media have reported that the head of the national players’ union will tour with the side in South Africa to offer extra support for the players.

Hazlewood said Smith and Warner would not need to be shielded.

“They’ll probably try to take as much heat as they can actually, try to keep the young guys out of the spotlight,” added the paceman.

Hazlewood said engaging positively with fans was the best way to defuse them.

“Join in and try to have a good time with them. Often when you do that, they end up being on your side after a couple of overs,” he said. “It is when you fight them that it becomes to and fro, and quite abusive. Ride the storm and go along with it.”

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.