Australian cricket all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is causing a stir on and off the field after an impromptu Instagram video, shot recently on a New York street, went viral.
Stoinis helped Australia thrash Pakistan in the World Cup on Friday night. In a crucial match for Australia’s finals hopes in the international one day series, Stoinis helped Australia thump Pakistan and secure a 62-run win in Bengaluru.
When none of Australia’s five frontline bowlers broke through, Stoinis turned the match back in Australia’s favour. His short-pitched deliveries caught Abdullah Shafique for 64 off the first ball he bowled, and then removed his opening partner Imam-ul-Haq out at deep third man for 70.
The win lifted Australia into the top four finals-paying spots for the first time, with Australian captain Pat Cummins lauding the all rounder’s energy. “You saw ‘Stoin’ come in and show his energy and really hit the deck hard,” Cummins said.
And now he’s getting as much attention for his New York internet antics as his batting and bowling.
His recent internet moment, which emerged when he and partner, Sarah Czarnuch, were asked to take part in an impromptu photoshoot on streets of New York City, has been pinging into inboxes across the world.
On holiday in September after taking part in the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament as a member of the San Francisco Unicorns, the pair were approach by street photographer David Guerrero for a “free photo”.
Guerrero is well known for his portraits of “ordinary” people he captures on the streets. And he was oblivious to his subject’s fame when he simply captioned the upload “beautiful Australian couple”.
Commenters and cricket fans all over the world quickly recognised the athlete, informing Guerrero in comments: “That’s Marcus Stoinis. He is world famous.”
Australian actor Adam Zwar wrote: “Dude not aware he’s photographing royalty.”
Dude not aware he's photographing royalty https://t.co/DMDSPgOxiW
— Adam Zwar (@adamzwar) August 9, 2023
While Guerrero was unaware of his subject’s fame, Stoinis recently told the ABC: “We thought ‘oh, this is a nice guy who wants to take some photos for his Instagram account’. I’m not really thinking too much of it, thinking it’ll be a bit of fun.”
“You know, no one’s really going to see this.”
Guerrero boasts over 1m Instagram followers.
