Oz stun hosts

Southampton: Steve Smith’s brilliant hundred and a clinical show by the bowlers at the death helped Australia beat England by 12 runs in their warm-up game here today. Smith hit a 102-ball 116 to help Australia post 297/9 after being asked to bat. England, the favourites to win the World Cup, were poised to chase down the target, reaching 197/4 in the 34th over but after that they lost the plot as they were bowled out for 285 in 49.3 overs. 

Brief scores: Australia: 297/9 (Smith 116, Warner 43; Plunkett 4/69); England: 285 all out (Vince 64, Buttler 52; Behrendorff 2/43, Richardson 2/51)

Warner, Smith booed by crowd

Southampton: Australian batsmen David Warner and Steve Smith were booed and heckled by the crowd in their warm-up game against England today. Warner and Smith returned to the Australian team earlier this month after completing one-year bans for their involvement in a ball-tampering scandal. The duo’s ban had ended on March 29. There were scattered boos when opening batsman Warner walked out to bat along with captain Aaron Finch. A spectator was heard shouting “Get off Warner you cheat”. There were more boos as Warner walked off after being dismissed for 43 to be replaced by Smith. There were a few chants of “cheat, cheat, cheat” when Smith arrived, although a lone Australia fan shouted back “Get ‘em Stevie!”. But when Smith reached his fifty, the applause outweighed the boos but the jeers were very much audible. He was booed again when he reached his hundred in the 48th over. Asked about the boos after the Australian innings, Smith said, “I’m pretty chilled, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’m just happy to be back playing and doing a job for my team. I fortunately was able to contribute for the team.”

Assistant coach Collingwood comes on as substitute

Southampton: Former skipper and current assistant coach Paul Collingwood today was forced to take the field as a substitute fielder after England pacers Mark Wood and Jofra Archer suffered injury scares in a warm-up game against Australia here. The 42-year-old, who had led England to 2010 T20 World Cup title, walked out to field after Wood and his replacement Archer left the ground following injuries. While Wood walked off the field after suffering a hamstring injury in his fourth over, Archer also left soon after injuring himself while fielding in the deep. Collingwood, England’s fielding coach, was then seen running around on the ground wearing Wood’s World Cup jersey, giving ample display of his fitness. Joe Root, who was rested for Saturday’s warm-up match, was also asked to take the field. England captain Eoin Morgan was missing in action due to a finger injury, while spinner Adil Rashid skipped the game due to a shoulder injury. PTI

PCB allows families to stay with players after India game

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board has finally allowed its players to have their families with them during the World Cup but only after the match against arch-rivals India on June 16.  The members of the national team were said to be unhappy with the board’s decision not to allow them to have their wives and children with them in the tournament and had made several requests to the board.

Asif rejoins squad after daughter’s funeral  

Karachi: Grieving Pakistan cricketer Asif Ali today left for England to join the Pakistan squad following the funeral of his daughter. Asif left the team’s tour of England and returned to Pakistan following the death of 19-month-old Dua Fatima, who had been receiving cancer treatment in the US.

Afghans celebrate win with gunfire  

Kabul: Afghanistan’s victory over Pakistan in a warmup match for the Cricket World Cup on Friday was greeted with prolonged volleys of celebratory gunfire and prompted a rare show of unity in a country split by increasingly bitter political divisions.