England all-rounder Moeen Ali has said that he hopes Australia’s returning duo of Steve Smith and David Warner get a decent reception from the fans when they arrive for the World Cup and Ashes in England.
Both Warner and Smith are returning from their year-long ban following the ball-tampering saga during the Test series against South Africa. And if history is anything to go by, Warner in particularly has shared a bitter history with the England fans. Ali, however, hopes that the fans keep their taunts funny rather than sticking them into their personal lives.
"I really hope they don't get too much stick. I want them to enjoy the series," Moeen said to the Guardian.
"If you have to, keep it funny, not personal. We all make mistakes. We are human beings and we have feelings. I know deep down they are probably really good people. I just hope they get treated decently. I just want the cricket to be spoken about."
The duo marked their return during the recently concluded Indian T20 League and ended their tenure with decent results. Smith, who was named as captain of team Rajasthan for the last few games, scored 319 runs at over 39, while Warner ended up being the tournament’s top scorer with 692 runs.
Ironically, he formed an unassailable partnership with England’s Jonny Bairstow for team Hyderabad, who qualified for the playoffs due to their superior Net Run Rate.
Speaking about their return, Australia’s head coach Justin Langer too mentioned that Warner and Smith will need to be taken care of. "There's not too many I've met in my life who like being booed or heckled or disliked so... they're human beings," Langer had said.
"We're going to have to care for them, we're going to have to put an arm around them and make sure they're going okay. But what people say, whether it's in the crowd or social media or wherever, there's nothing they can do about that, they can't control it but what we can do is keep an eye on them and make sure they're going okay as people as much as cricketers."
