Australia's Champions Trophy wash-out against South Africa sets up crucial final game

Australian captain Steve Smith revealed that he was prepared to adjust the lineup for a T20-style encounter in the Champions Trophy match between Australia and South Africa, which was canceled due to rain. The match at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday was abandoned without a ball bowled due to persistent heavy rain. The conditions made it impossible to start or continue the game.

The umpires called off the match nearly four hours after the scheduled start time, as gloomy weather forecasts convinced them that the minimum of 20 overs per side required to constitute a match could not be completed. Aaron Hardie, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sean Abbott, and Tanveer Sangha were the players left out of the Australian side that began the tournament with a five-wicket win over England. Their exclusion was part of the initial strategy.

Smith stated that if the match against South Africa had been able to proceed and been shortened to around 20 overs per side, he would have made adjustments to the team's composition. This could have seen power hitters like Fraser-McGurk and Hardie brought into the side in an emergency. "When we saw the rain around, we were probably contemplating a different team for a rain-shortened game," Smith said to Prime. "You have to be adaptable to the situation."

The sharing of points has made Group B's situation quite complicated, with South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan, and England all having a chance to compete for the two semi-final spots. India and New Zealand have already secured their places from Group A, while Pakistan and Bangladesh have been eliminated. South Africa currently tops Group B after defeating Afghanistan by 107 runs. Australia began their campaign with a thrilling five-wicket victory, chasing down a target of 352 with 15 balls to spare.

Josh Inglis was the hero of that match, smashing an unbeaten 120 off 86 balls after Australia slumped to 4-136. Australia will face Afghanistan in their final group match on Friday night. If Australia wins, they are guaranteed to progress. However, if they lose, Australia will be in danger, and the subsequent match between England and South Africa could become a decider. The team is focused on securing a win against Afghanistan.

Smith said of Afghanistan: "They are a dangerous team when they are on, like every team in this tournament. Our equation is pretty simple now… if we win, we lock up a top-four spot." The cancellation of Australia's match against South Africa was a boost to England's hopes. While it still needs to beat Afghanistan on Thursday and South Africa on Saturday, doing so will now guarantee England's place in the final four without needing to consider net run rate.

The Australian players had no option but to wait in the dressing room for several hours until the match against South Africa was finally called off. When asked who was the most annoying teammate during this time, Smith did not hesitate: "Marnus (Labuschagne), without a doubt. He was walking around the room, trying to annoy everyone. Some of us were just trying to sit down and do crosswords, but he would just keep annoying us."