Australia qualified for the semifinals of the Champions Trophy 2025 after their final group game against Afghanistan was washed out. Aussie skipper Steve Smith has heaped praise on the bowling unit for coming together well and helping the team.
Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith has praised the Australian bowlers for doing well in the clash against Afghanistan after his team secured a semifinal spot in the Champions Trophy 2025.
Australia were short of nearly six first-choice players in the 50-over tournament but have still made it to the last four from Group B. The absentees’ sheet included the pace troika of Pat Cummins (also captain), Josh Hazlewood and Mitchel Starc, the three Aussie mainstays. It also includes vice-captain Mitchell Marsh, ODI retired Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green.
While the Aussies conceded over 350 runs against England, they restricted Afghanistan to 273 in their second match that took place without weather interruption. Smith pointed out that the team aimed to reach the semifinals. “That’s what we were after in the start, to finish in the top two and qualify for the semis. I thought the guys did a good job, made good changes and took wickets in the middle. Did well to restrict them to 270 and we were in a good position,” said Smith in the post-match interaction with the broadcaster.
He praised the bowling unit despite it leaking 37 runs in extras, including 17 wides against Afghanistan. “There were a few (extras) today, and Spencer (Johnson) was getting it to swing too much. Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper) was happy when that spell ended. The guys, though, did a good job, beat the bat on a few occasions,” he said. “It was a good performance. Shame the game was washed out.”
Meanwhile, Australia opener Matthew Short has picked up an injury, and there are doubts over his availability. Smith opened on him, saying, “He was struggling a bit, and a few days might be too short to recover.”
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi reflected on the game. “It’s unfortunate that the game went without a result. It was a good game. I think we should have scored 300-plus but they bowled well in the middle overs,” said Shahidi.
“It (273) was a good score, but we didn’t start well with the ball and gave them too much width and many hitting options. We’ll learn from this.”
