Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis left Justin Langer no choice. Source:Reddit
Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis left Justin Langer no choice. Source:Reddit
Aussie coach Justin Langer did everything he could to keep it together.
As a video of Aussie stars Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis was shown on the big screen during Australia's run chase against Pakistan in Sharjah, the Aussie mentor shook his head and furrowed his brow in disapproval.
But it didn't take long for a cheeky grin to break through the rough exterior as Zampa and Stoinis shared a bizarre display of affection in front of the cameras.
All three of them had plenty to be excited about at the time as teammates Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh raced towards Pakistan's total of 280.
The moment came as Stoinis and Zampa clearly decided to have a laugh together after the camera was repeatedly targeting the two Aussies, who were sitting at the front of the dressing room balcony.
With the cameras focused on the pair, Zampa and Stoinis appeared to get very touchy-feely as Zampa ran his hands through Stoinis' hair and the allrounder responded by affectionately leaning into his teammate sitting next to him.
They barely broke a smile until Zampa eventually let out a giggle.
It was all fun and games until the vision was shown on the big screen inside the stadium and the cameras then captured Langer's reaction to the tomfoolery.
Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis left Justin Langer no choice. Source:Reddit
He was not impressed, shaking his head before turning around to look at the two class-clowns sitting nearby.
Eventually Langer saw the funny side — as did the Fox Cricket commentary team of Allan Border and Brendon Julian.
"Looking quite comfortable at the moment the Australian boys," Border said as Zampa and Stoinis were spotted canoodling together.
"They might not get down to Stoinis the way things are going at the moment."
Julian then cut in to say: "Wouldn't want to see too much more of that".
Zampa and fellow spinner Nathan Lyon were among the Aussie's best during Pakistan's first innings where both spinners were among Australia's most economical bowlers.
Lyon's push for a World Cup berth gained further momentum in Sharjah, where the off-spinner produced yet another impressive performance in the canary yellow.
Lyon entered the attack after just six overs in the five-match series opener between Australia and Pakistan.
The veteran created the first breakthrough of the innings in his second over, when Imam-ul-Haq offered a simple return catch.
Lyon could've had centurion Haris Sohail out edging with his next delivery but the ball fell safe, while a dropped catch from Peter Handscomb denied him the scalp of Umar Akmal.
The tweaker, who missed training on Tuesday with the flu, recorded figures of 1-38 to finish Australia's most economical bowler for the second match in a row. Zampa finished with 0-44 from his 10 overs.
Lyon snared 1-34 in Delhi last week, when he was recalled for the series decider against India and exhibited the sort of composure that underlined why he is tracking towards World Cup selection.
"Imam has been in really good form so for Nathan to get him out early was a real positive," Aaron Finch said.
"The overs (Glenn) Maxwell and Lyon bowled in that powerplay were crucial."
Lyon has played 21 ODIs since debuting in 2012, with selectors generally regarding him as a Test specialist.
Former chairman of selectors Rod Marsh memorably explained in 2015 that Lyon was "bowling that well in Test match cricket, it almost seems a shame for him to perhaps lose any of that by perhaps copping a hiding every now and then in one- day cricket".
But coach Justin Langer has shown a willingness to back Australia's most prolific Test off-spinner in the 50-over format, suggesting Lyon and Zampa could both be part of the World Cup squad.
Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns recently agreed with the notion.
"Most teams around the world seem to be including one, at least, and probably two spinners in their World Cup squad," Hohns said.
"We can't bury our heads in the sand and just say we're going with fast bowlers."
