Australia’s T20 World Cup marketing campaign has gotten off to a reassuring begin, but query marks linger over Glenn Maxwell after one other failure with the bat on Thursday morning AEST.
Mitchell Marsh’s males toppled Oman by 39 runs at Bridgetown’s Kensington Oval after opener David Warner and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis dug their teammates out of a gap.
After limping in the direction of 3-50 in the ninth over, the veteran duo mixed for a 102-run partnership for the fourth wicket to disclaim Oman any probability of an upset victory in the Barbados capital. Warner anchored the innings with a gritty 56 (51), whereas Stoinis cleared the boundary rope six instances throughout his unbeaten 67 (36).
Both gamers have been below stress heading into the event — Warner had been dropped by Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting through the latest Indian Premier League, whereas younger all-rounder Cameron Green has continued pushing his case for Stoinis’ spot in the Australian T20 staff.
However, Warner and Stoinis have properly and really cemented their spot in the beginning XI for the rest of the marquee event.
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Warner caught up in comical mix-up! | 00:36
Warner, who will retire from worldwide cricket following the T20 World Cup, registered simply 168 runs at 21.00 through the latest IPL, completely outclassed by Delhi teammate Jake Fraser-McGurk. The 37-year-old’s underwhelming kind prompted hypothesis about his place in the nationwide T20 facet, with pundits calling for Fraser-McGurk to be parachuted into the beginning XI.
The nationwide selectors backed Warner to rediscover his finest in the Caribbean — and he repaid their religion on Thursday morning.
The left-hander’s expertise got here to the fore as Australia’s prime order struggled to tame the gradual, dry deck at Kensington Oval. He nudged and prodded into gaps, judging size early and hardly ever whipping out extravagant sweeps or lofted drives all through the cautious knock.
“He leads us from the top of the order every game,” Stoinis mentioned of Warner through the innings break.
“He’s just class. He doesn’t panic. He doesn’t have to play only one way, he can sum up conditions.”
Although the likes of Travis Head and Fraser-McGurk clear the boundary rope extra ceaselessly than Warner, his ability and experience throughout low-scoring affairs may show invaluable over the approaching weeks.
“It’s going to look a little bit different this tournament,” Australian captain Marsh mentioned after the match.
“It’s not going to be the 200-run wickets … it’s going back to the old T20 with someone batting through.”
Meanwhile, Stoinis calmly shifted by way of the gears after becoming a member of Warner in the ninth over, mustering simply 9 runs from his first 14 deliveries earlier than racing in the direction of his third T20I half-century. It was the all-rounder’s highest T20I rating in practically three years, allaying any doubts about his kind.
The West Australian then snared three wickets through the run chase, together with the essential scalp of Oman captain Aqib Ilyas, to show he’s greater than able to serving as Australia’s fifth bowler when required.
Stoinis, later named participant of the match, completed with 3-19, the second-best bowling figures of his T20I profession, changing into simply the third cricketer to attain a fifty and take three wickets throughout a T20 World Cup contest.
Ahead of this weekend’s mouth-watering conflict in opposition to England, Maxwell’s lack of runs in the sport’s shortest format remains a lingering concern for the Australians. During the latest IPL, the 35-year-old requested for himself to be dropped from the Royal Challengers Bangalore beginning XI as a result of he felt that he “wasn’t contributing in a positive way”.
Maxwell’s horror run of kind continued in Bridgetown on Thursday, caught fantastically by rival skipper Ilyas in the duvet area for a golden duck. Since the beginning of April, the Victorian has compiled 52 runs in ten knocks at 5.20, together with 5 geese.
Australia will subsequent face England on the similar venue on Sunday morning, with the primary ball scheduled for 3am AEST.