England skipper won't follow Virat Kohli's example

Spectators can do whatever they want: England skipper Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan, on Monday, said that the crowd can do whatever they want in the team's match against Australia.

Morgan's remarks come as Australian players David Warner and Steve Smith have constantly been booed in England since the start of World Cup. "Spectators pay a lot of money. They can do whatever they want. You don't know how sports fans will react. Just because two guys have been punished, served their punishment and returned to play, it doesn't mean they will be accepted back into the cricket community straight away. It will take time," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Morgan as saying.

"I'm not expecting anything. I think fans and supporters up and down the country will have different reactions. As they will around the world. So we'll see," he added.

Warner and Smith have received a hostile reception in England ever since their return from the ball-tampering scandal.

Smith was being booed by the Indian fans as well during the India-Australia match in the World Cup and it was then that the skipper Virat Kohli decided to take the matter in his own hands. He especially asked the Indian contingent not to boo Smith.

Both Warner and Smith were suspended for a 12-month period by Cricket Australia following their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018.

However, Australian skipper Aaron Finch said it doesn't matter if the crowd decides to boo Smith and Warner. He even said this might give extra incentive to the players to perform.

"As a player, you don't tend to hear what people say. You hear the noise at times but not the specifics and I'm sure it will be the last thing on Steve or Davey's mind when they walk out to bat. If a handful of people or the whole stadium is booing, it won't make any difference to how hard they're watching the ball or anything like that," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Finch as saying.

"It's just a bit of white noise. It hasn't affected our boys one bit, I can honestly say that. If anything it has given them a bit more motivation," he added.

England sits at the fourth place in the World Cup standings with eight points from six matches. With the team's shocking loss at the hands of Sri Lanka, England finds itself in a spot of bother as they need to win two of the three remaining matches to ensure their place in the semi-finals contention.

England have not beaten Australia, India and New Zealand in the World Cup for the past 27 years.