Credit where it’s due: This is a bloody good rib. The Australian cricket team has been given no rest in the banter department ahead of the first Ashes test tomorrow, arriving for a planned training session at Edgbaston to an almighty sledge from the English side.
[jwplayer oAYWeKII]
The Australians rocked up to the Edgbaston stadium only to be confronted by a scoreboard very clearly reminding them about the last time they were at the ground just a few short weeks ago, when England’s one-day side absolutely walloped them in the World Cup semi-final.
Still up on the scoreboard at Edgbaston… Australia train this afternoon, wonder if it will stay there all day 🤔 pic.twitter.com/sYFLM4sBbm
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) July 29, 2019
That is a not-so-subtle reminder that, in that semi-final, England reeled in Australia’s target of 223 in just 32.1 overs, with Joe Root and Eoin Morgan at the crease when the winning runs were scored.
England, of course, went on to win the World Cup – albeit in tense, somewhat controversial circumstances – leaving Australia to rue what might or could have been.
That scoreboard sledge isn’t a lucky coincidence or minor error either; since the ill-fated semi-final, two English domestic Twenty20 games have been played at the ground, meaning whoever’s in charge of the scoreboard at the stadium went to the trouble of recreating the final scoreline specifically to greet the Australian side as they arrived at the ground.
Whether that backfires spectacularly on the Poms by lighting an unintended fire under the visiting side remains to be seen. All will be revealed tomorrow night at 8pm AEST when the first Ashes test commences.
Bring it the fuck on, lads.
