Australia have been knocked out of the T20 World Cup in humiliating circumstances – and an old foe was quick to poke fun at Mitchell Marsh’s team.
The 2021 champions needed Ireland to beat Zimbabwe to stay alive – but their match was washed out without a ball being bowled in Kandy overnight.
It meant Zimbabwe will join Sri Lanka as qualifiers from Group B and will face the West Indies, India and South Africa in the next stage of the tournament.
After disastrous losses to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, the Aussies were booted out and English mouthpiece Piers Morgan was quick to lay the boot in.
‘My thoughts with CricketAus at this very difficult time,’ Morgan sarcastically posted on X, with an emoji that showed hands praying.
The cheap shot from the outspoken commentator was not surprising given his history of trolling the Aussie team when they occasionally come up short in big tournaments.
English commentator Piers Morgan mocked the Aussie side on its shock T20 World Cup exit
Morgan’s tongue-in-cheek tweet was typical of the Englishman, who was humbled during the Ashes series
A dejected Mitchell Marsh looks on after his team’s loss against Sri Lanka in Kandy
But it wasn’t only Morgan who was quick to criticise the Aussie team.
Ex-Australian players had their say, with wicketkeeping great Ian Healy claiming the side was ‘soft’.
‘We claim to be clever at developing the future, but it’s all gone soft on us in the cushy little club at the top of Australian T20 cricket,’ Healy said on SEN.
‘The (current) Australian team is not good enough and is playing poorly.
‘How did we get to this? Having put so much thought into this, what happened? This is an Australian cricket low point.’
Healy, like many including Mark Waugh, was also stunned at the reluctance to pick the in-form Steve Smith in the XI.
‘We had the wrong players in there. There is no answer to why Steve Smith was not playing,’ he said.
Waugh said Smith not only should have been in the side, he should have been the first player picked.
Ian Healy labelled parts of Cricket Australia ‘soft’ following their exit from the T20 World Cup
Mark Waugh said it was an insult to Steve Smith after selectors repeatedly decided not to pick him in the T20 side
Steve Smith was one of the most in-form when swinging the willow in the recent Big Bash (pictured, after scoring a century for the Sydney Sixers)
‘I know you can’t please everybody, and sometimes there are tough calls that can go either way, but to me, the non-selection of Steve Smith in the squad originally is the most baffling non-selection I can remember for ages,’ Waugh told SENQ Breakfast.
‘He should have been first picked, and he wasn’t picked in the squad.
‘To have your best player by 100 yards sitting on the sideline in Steve Smith…I think it’s an insult, to be honest.’
World Cup winning spinner Brad Hogg was equally scathing, stating the Aussies got what they deserved.
‘We really weren’t prepared enough for this particular World Cup,’ Hogg told talkSPORT.
‘They weren’t fit enough and they’ve only got themselves to blame.’
It comes as the T20 World Cup has barely raised a ripple in Australia, with many fans not even watching the tournament because it’s being streamed on Amazon’s Prime Video.
Most supporters haven’t bothered to stream the games live, while there have been plenty of empty stands at the tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The moment Australia was knocked out of the T20 World Cup as Ireland and Zimbabwe players shake hands after their game was washed out
The fact the tournament is held every two years instead of every four like other major sporting events such as the ODI World Cup, Football World Cup and Olympics, has made it less meaningful.
This is the fourth T20 World Cup staged since 2021.
‘They (Aussie stars) don’t even care about all this, they have won everything in cricket,’ one fan responded to Morgan.
‘They never take T20 World Cup seriously,’ another said on X.
‘We have the Ashes, that’s all that matters,’ a third pointed out.
Australia have one game remaining at the T20 World Cup against Oman on Friday AEDT.