The Australia National Cricket Team skipper Steve Smith has hilariously labelled the star middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne as the ‘most annoying cricketer’.
Steve Smith made his comments after the seventh match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 between Group B teams – Australia and South Africa on Tuesday, February 25, at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
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He was wandering around the room trying to bug every single person – Steve Smith on Marnus Labuschagne
The match between the Proteas and the Aussies got washed out without a toss due to continuous rain in the city. It was the fourth no result/abandoned game for Australia in their last eight appearances in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Speaking after the match, Steve Smith said that he had got an idea about the washout after checking the weather update. He said:
“I did look on the weather app and saw some rain. Not ideal but we can’t do anything about it.”
Steve Smith was asked who is the most annoying during a rain delay and he unsurprisingly named Marnus Labuschagne. He elaborated:
“Marnus, well and truly. He was wandering around the room trying to bug every single person. A few of us were sitting and doing the crosswords. We were watching the rain. We were thinking what would have been the good score if we had some play.”
Afghanistan are dangerous on their day – Steve Smith
Australia will next take on Afghanistan on February 28 and they need to win that match to book their place in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Talking about the match, Smith labeled Afghanistan as a dangerous side and elaborated:
“The equation is simple now. Win our game against Afghanistan and lock ourselves in top four. Afghanistan are dangerous on their day, just like any other team in this tournament. That’s the beauty of this tournament. Top eight teams going against each other. We have been able to chip in with a couple of golf sessions. The boys are up and the energy levels are high.”
In the end, Smith also talked about their victory over England in their tournament opener and said that they kept their cool and got past the finish line. He said:
“It was good. We kept our cool on the field. At one stage, it looked like they would get 400 but we pulled back things. The partnership was crucial and it was a good team performance.”
How Did Australia Perform In Their Previous ODI Against South Africa
Australia beat South Africa by three wickets in their previous ODI, which was the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November.
The Aussies were invited to bowl first in the match and the bowling unit set the tone early by dismantling the top-order of South Africa. Star pacers Mitchell Starc (3/34) and Josh Hazlewood (2/12) struck early to reduce the Proteas to 24/4.
Then, the part-time spinner Travis Head dismissed the well-set Heinrich Klaasen (47) and Marco Jansen in consecutive deliveries to hand a double blow to Temba Bavuma-led side.
David Miller was the only batter who troubled Australia as he hit a fighting century before being dismissed by Pat Cummins as South Africa were bowled out for 212.
Chasing a modest target of 213, Australia came out all guns blazing. Travis Head played a blistering knock of 62 runs off 48 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. Opener David Warner (29 off 18) also provided early fireworks before Markram bowled him.
Then, South Africa made a small comeback by dismissing Steve Smith (30) and Marnus Labuschagne (18), Glenn Maxwell (1) and Josh Inglis (28).
At 193/7, Australia found themselves in a tricky situation, but captain Pat Cummins (14*) and Mitchell Starc (16*) batted calmly to take their team over the line with 16 balls to spare.
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