Australia was down to just 9 players for their T20 World Cup warm-up game with Namibia. Well, because some of them, like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and others, took a little break after their IPL hustle. They roped in George Bailey and Andre Borovec from the coaching staff to fill in the gaps when skipper Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood were off doing something else.
Australia’s Reduced Squad vs. Namibia
This makeshift team still managed to squash Namibia with ease, led by David Warner’s rapid half-century that sealed the deal with 10 overs to spare. Talk about stepping up when it matters. Josh Hazlewood snagged a couple of wickets, while Zampa joined the party with three scalps. Meanwhile, Zane Green gave his all for Namibia, scoring 38 runs, but sadly fell short of shaking things up.
Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green were all absent from the squad, taking some time off after their IPL commitments.
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Looking ahead, Australia will face off against the West Indies next before diving into the real deal of the T20 World Cup starting June 6th. First up is Oman, then comes England in a classic showdown soon after. And let’s not forget about round two with Namibia on June 12, followed by a battle with Scotland to wrap things up in the group stage.
Down to Nine: Australia’s Challenge Against Namibia
A short-handed Australia called on a national selector and backroom staff to make up the numbers in a Twenty20 World Cup warm-up match and still easily beat Namibia. Batsman David Warner led the way in Trinidad on Tuesday, following a poor Indian Premier League by his high standards.
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Despite having four support staff deployed as substitute fielders at one stage, Australia restricted the team, ranked 14th in the world, to 119-9 at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. Warner then punished the Namibians with an unbeaten 54 off 21 balls to guide Australia, who will be one of the favourites when the World Cup begins on Saturday, to a seven-wicket win.
Bailey and Borovec were also joined by batting coach Brad Hodge and head coach Andrew McDonald when captain Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood were off the field. Borovec and Bailey even took catches for their team.
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Then Warner stepped up big time and made sure Namibia paid for it. He scored an unbeaten 54 runs off just 21 balls! With his stellar performance, Australia secured a seven-wicket victory. Looking ahead to the World Cup starting on Saturday, Australia is expected to be one of the top contenders. And based on their performance against Namibia under such unusual circumstances, it’s easy to see why they’re considered favorites.
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T20 World Cup 2024 Australia squad:
Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, and Adam Zampa.
Traveling reserves:
Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matthew Short.
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