Australia can claim to have had the most peaceful road thus far in the T20 World Cup 2024. Things could change in the Super Eight, but Australia is a well-drilled team that appears to have covered all bases. Pat Cummins was allowed to take the first game off; there was no reason to force an injured Mitchell Starc into this one.
Others could now rest against Scotland before the following stage, which includes three games in six days for any countries that advance. Namibia was not anticipated to be an obstacle, but this tournament has been full of surprises.
This, however, would not be the night to add anything to that list. Australia’s powerplay bowling was relentless; Adam Zampa dominated the middle and lower order; the fielding was excellent; and the chase was harsh.
Australia’s Zampa Reaches 100 T20I Wickets
Zampa became Australia’s first male player to reach 100 T20I wickets and received the Player-of-the-Match award, his second in two games, as well as praise from his skipper.
As in the ODI World Cup, he has so far been the sole frontline spinner, with Glenn Maxwell providing off-spin.
“If you look at his career, especially over the last five years, he’s probably our most important player,” Australian captain Mitchell Marsh said during the post-game presentation. He enjoys the big moment and the pressure that comes with experience. He’s bowling well right now, and we’re happy to have him.
It took 24 minutes and less than six overs to achieve the goal. Australia‘s run rate was neither a concern nor an advantage (whether they take heed of England’s in a few days is another story). But they were in no mood to wait. Perhaps they can visit another of Antigua’s 365 beaches before heading across to St Lucia.
“I think in the back of your head turning up today, that’s how the day should go for us,” said Josh Hazlewood. “It’s one thing to think about it; it’s another to go out and do it.” So it was up to us to establish the tone as the bowling group, and having them go 3 for 16 [15], 5 for 20-odd set the tone.
“Obviously, we have the freedom with the bat to chase a lowish score as quickly as possible… but yeah, it’s good to get that win.”
Namibia’s Struggles Throughout the Match
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Gerhard Erasmus, Namibia’s skipper, who had to sweat 17 balls to get off the mark, did not hide his disappointment and admitted his team had not played their best during the campaign, which began with a Super Over triumph against Namibia and ended with a loss to Scotland. He thought his guys would still benefit from the experience.
“I think these big games are always gold dust in the sense that you get a physical run out with the best in the world,” he said.
You tend to face different ball speeds, different skills at a very high quality, a very high consistency, and whether it’s a game that runs very close or one that you lose quite far. It’s still gold dust that you need to try your hardest to soak up every moment of and every type of experience that you can because they don’t come around very often.
So, even though it was a bit of a runaway, maybe some of the boys can do it again tonight.” he summarized.
