After succumbing to a four wicket-loss against hosts West Indies in the Tri-nation series at Basseterre, Australian captain Steve Smith expressed his unhappiness over their performance in the field.
On a sluggish surface, Usman Khawaja‘s 98 propelled the visitors to a formidable score of 265. However, Marlon Samuels had the last laugh with a stellar knock as the Caribbean side defeated Australia in an ODI for the first time since March 2012.
Speaking to reporters in the post-match press conference, Smith lamented, “It was just a pretty sloppy display altogether. We didn't bowl the right areas, we let them off a bit easy in that respect and we were sloppy with most of the things we did in the field as well.“
He added, “They came out playing their shots. So credit to them, but I thought we were a fair way off our line and lengths and our fielding was pretty average in the first 10 overs of the game. When you're chasing 265 and you're 1-70 after 10 overs, you're well on your way.”
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Khawaja‘s day turned from promising to woeful as he shelled chances from both opening batsmen. In the end, the dropped catches turned costly with the West Indies openers setting a comfortable platform for the middle-order.
On the inadequate fielding, Smith admitted, “We've been doing the work and we've been doing our best. But, this isn't the standard the Australian cricket team sets. So, we've got a lot more work to do to improve it.”
Imploring his troops to put in the hard yards, he felt, “We set ourselves high standards in the field and we want to be the best fielding team in the world. We've got a lot of work to do to get to that mark.“
Looking ahead to the upcoming matches, Smith asserted, “We're playing cricket for Australia, it's a privilege and an honor. So, there's no reason the guys can't be up for the fight and up for the challenge.“
Currently on top of the table, Australia’s next match will be against the South Africans in Barbados on Sunday.
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