That’s it from me. While we wait for a more considered take from Geoff Lemon in Bridgetown, here’s an initial match report. Thanks for your company, goodbye!
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A word or two from loveable Mitch Marsh:
It was a pretty close one in the end, but good to get a win first up. Everyone’s going to have to play a little bit different this tournament I think… Davy delivered tonight.
On Stoinis:
It was pretty special from him, he took his time and then got going through the end of the innings.
On Starc limping off:
Just a cramp, we just took him off as a precaution but he says he’s fine.
Things may look a little different on these sort of wickets, but I think that’s exciting. We go on to England now and hopefully that’ll be a good game with a good crowd.”
Oman Captain – Aqib Ilyas: “Playing against a top side today was a great experience especially following on from the Super Over last game. Australia played really well but credit goes to our bowlers. They can do really well on turning tracks.”
They did indeed look a handful, if Stoinis’ edge had been snaffled by the keeper in the 14th over then it could well have been a different story. C’est la vie.
Australia go top of Group B with that win, they’ve got two points as have Namibia but at an inferior run rate. England and Scotland have one apiece and poor old Oman perhaps deserve to be on more than a rotund zero.
Marcus Stoinis is indeed Player of the Match:
He hit a 36-ball 67 and then followed up with figures of 3 for 19 with the ball:
It was a nice start, there were maybe a few cobwebs for us but we’re better for it and we got the win. I got to spend some time in the middle and have a bit of a bowl.”
On facing Oman’s bowling attack:
A couple were keeping low, a couple spinning and then not spinning. With the new ball the quicks looked tough as well.
On the 15th over that he blasted for 26 runs and turned the game:
Davey (Warner) and I spoke about targeting the first couple of balls of that next over and then you know, you get the first few away and you think to try and turn it into a big over.”
Updated
Australia win by 39 runs!
A decent test for Australia in the end, it was hard fought at times – especially in the first 12 overs of Oman’s bowling effort. Marcus Stoinis’ six hitting got them a decent score and despite some plucky batting throughout, Oman were never really in contention.
Australia get their #T20WorldCup 2024 campaign rolling with a comfortable win over Oman in Barbados 🙌#AUSvOMA ➡ https://t.co/e24jet7cMz pic.twitter.com/fFY9MesH4v
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 6, 2024
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WICKET Shakeel Ahmed c Warner b Ellis 11
They think it’s all over…
19th over: Oman 109-7 Shakeel 3, Kaleemullah) The fiery Kaleemullah is the new batter. He picks up a couple of twos off Stoinis. One over left – snookers 44 needed for Oman.
WICKET! Mehran Khan c David b Stoinis 27 (Oman 117-8)
Excellent from Tim David on the boundary rope, nifty footwork and a razor sharp mind sees him pull off a juggling catch on both sides of the rope. Mehran’s entertaining innings comes to an end.
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18th over: Oman 109-7 (M Khan 27, Shakeel 3) More humpty from Mehran Khan! Nathan Ellis is smashed over midwicket for SIX! 100 up for Oman. They’ve not fallen away too badly in the end, credit to them.
17th over: Oman 96-7 (M Khan 17, Shakeel 1) Hazlewood is pulled for four in some style by Mehran Khan and the big fast bowler responds by clonking him on the helmet with a short ball. A brief pause for a concussion check but we’re all good to continue.
16th over: Oman 89-7 (M Khan 12, Shakeel 0) Zampa very nearly cleans Shakeel up with a beauty first ball, a spitting googly that narrowly misses the edge of the blade and the off peg. Lovely bowling.
WICKET! Ayaan Khan c Hazlewood b Zampa 36 (89-7)
Zampa is smeared for two huge sixes over the leg side fence by Ayaan Khan but gets his man at the last – a top edged sweep ends the entertaining cameo.
15th over: Oman 75-6 (A Khan 23, M Khan 11) Worrying times for Mitchell Starc and Australia as the bowler pulls up after his second delivery of the over and the stump mic picks up a load groan. Has he tweaked his calf? The physio team are out en masse to asses the damage. Surely they just take him off here, even if it turns out to be cramp? Yep, Starc is going off after taking on a few gulps of fluid which might suggest it is cramp but definitely one to keep an eye on. Glenn Maxwell is summoned to finish the over and there’s seven off it.
14th over: Oman 68-6 (A Khan 20, M Khan 9) Hazelwood returns. Hold up – Mehran Khan deposits him for a beautiful straight six down the ground! Stand and deliver!
13th over: Oman 57-6 (A Khan 17, M Khan) Mehran Khan is the new man. Oman giving up the ghost a little bit after such a promising start to this game.
WICKET! Shoaib Khan b Zampa 0 (Oman 57-6)
Another overturned decision… Zampa is certain he has his man caught behind and Umpire Wilson thinks so too but the DRS shows no edge. That’s out! Zampa yorks the advancing Shoaib two balls later and that’s his 300th T20 wicket.
12th over: Oman 56-5 (A Khan 17, S Khan 0) Is Starc on a hat-trick?! Ah. Nope. Ayaan Khan was given out on the field but the ball was sliding past the stumps on review. Shoaib Khan joins his namesake in the middle.
Updated
WICKET! Khalid Kail c Maxwell b Starc 8 (Oman 56-5)
Maxwell doesn’t drop those – an uppish drive is safely pouched at deep point.
11th over: Oman 54-4 (Kail 8, Khan 16) Zampa continues after drinks. I think I’m right in saying this is his first match in over three months. A few signs of rust perhaps as he’s worked away for a single off each ball. Six off the over. Oman need a lot and are running out of balls. (111 from 54 if you must know.)
10th over: Oman 48-4 (Kail 5, Khan 13) Nathan Ellis once again. He has a curious action – running in with the ball held aloft and clasped in both hands – as if he’s rushing to the vets with a broken winged chaffinch.
Shot! Ayaan Khan guides/edges a full ball through the vacant slip region for four and then follows up with a thunderous drive on the up through extra cover!
That’ll do the beleaguered chaffinch no good at all waitwhatamItalkingabout?
9th over: Oman 38-4 (Kail 4, Khan 4) Zampa goes for just three runs. This is all over bar the ELEVEN OVERS LEFT.
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8th over: Oman 35-4 (Kail 4, Khan 1) Ayaan Khan joins Kail and gets off the mark with a drop and run into the off side. I thought it looked well judged but the replays show David Warner would have run out Kail with a direct hit. What do I know. Nuthin.
Here comes the trendily bespectacled Adam Zampa.
“Lynne – are those your mum’s cataract glasses?”
WICKET! Maqsood c Wade b Stoinis 1 (Oman 34-4)
I reckon Marcus Stoinis has got the player of the match award in the bag. Just an inkling.
7th over: Oman 34-3 (Maqsood 1, Kail 4) Maxwell drops short and is swivelled away to the fence by Kail. Just five off the over though, Oman need a whole lot more.
6th over: Oman 29-3 (Maqsood 0) Khalid Kail is the new batter. Glenn Maxwell is being summoned, it’ll be the first look at spin in the innings for Oman.
WICKET! Aqib Ilyas c Wade b Stoinis 18 (Oman 29-3)
Marcus Stoinis - chest like a Smeg freezer – is coming on to bowl. I’d venture he knows his way around a bench press. Three dots and then… have it! Aqib deposits a pull shot into the hot tub on the other side of the boundary for SIX.
Gone! Stoinis has the last laugh though, nicking off Aqib with the final ball of the over, Matthew Wade taking a nifty catch behind the stumps.
5th over: Oman 23-2 (Ilyas 11, Maqsood 0) Zeeshan Maqsood is the new batter and he blocks out his first ball to end the over.
WICKET! Kashyap Prajapati lbw b Ellis 7 (Oman 23-2)
Nathan Ellis replaces Starc. He’s mixing up 140KPH zingers with deceptive slower balls. A quicker one slides into the pads and is given out! The review confirms it was knocking out leg stump. Oman lose their second.
Uganda win their first World Cup game!
Uganda have won their first game at a World Cup. Strolling to 78 with only the seven nervy wickets and 18.2 mad overs.
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) June 6, 2024
They were embarrassed in that first game. They won their second. They have given us quite the ride already. Job done.
If you missed it – Taha Hashim did a great piece on the Uganda team a few days ago.
4th over: Oman 22-1 (Prajapati 7, Ilyas 11) Hazelwood is miserly, just two singles eked from his second over.
3rd over: Oman 20-1 (Prajapati 6, Ilyas 11) Starc for another, he’s a smidge full and Ilyas drives him down the ground for four. A leg bye and a wide gift a couple of runs and there’s nearly a run out off the final ball but Travis Head threw to the wrong end and the chance went begging.
Updated
Missed this earlier. Pumped… and maybe a demerit point.
Oman with a nice goodbye to Warner pic.twitter.com/8GY8HCImt7
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) June 6, 2024
2nd over: Oman 14-1 (Prajapati 6, Ilyas 6) Josh Hazlewood from the opposite end and he does what he does – landing it on a handkerchief outside off and wobbling it both ways. Just two singles off the over.
1st over: Oman 12-1 (Prajapati 5, Ilyas 5) It all started so well for Oman with Prajapati driving the first ball from Starc square of the wicket for a beautiful four. A golden duck for Athavale brings Captain Aqib Ilyas to the middle, he bagged a gilded quacker in the first game courtesy of the fantastically named Ruben Trumplemann.
Close! Ilyas drives a full toss in the air that narrowly avoids the ring but lands safe and goes for four. Another wicket for Starc? Ilyas is given out LBW on the field but this looks very leg side-ish to me… Oman review and sure enough the ball pitched outside leg stump and was missing. A poor decision from the umpire. Eventful first over.
WICKET! Pratik Athavale lbw b Starc 0 (Oman 6-1)
Starc pins Athavale LBW with an inswinging yorker!
Here come the Oman openers. Kashyap Prajapati and Pratik Athavale to set about chasing down the target. They’ll have Mitchell Starc to contend with first up.
Meanwhile – there’s a bit of a thriller taking place between Papua New Guinea and Uganda:
This is by far the better T20 today. #T20WorldCup https://t.co/uCrxvIxzLR
— Dan Liebke (@LiebCricket) June 6, 2024
Australia set Oman 165 to win
They’ll be happy with that. Especially given they were 50-3 in the ninth over. Marcus Stoinis finishes not out on 66 with six sixes and two fours to his name, he clobbered Australia out of a hole and was supported by a canny innings from David Warner.
WICKET! Warner c Shoaib Khan b Kaleemullah 56 (Australia 152-4)
More runs for Marcus Stoinis. A thick outside edge brings four down to third and is followed by another majestic drive down the ground for SIX. Such clean striking. Stoinis has spared plenty of blushes with this knock. The 100 run partnership between Warner and Stoinis is finally broken as Warner holes out off the penultimate ball of the over.
Tim David is the new batter and is off the mark straight away with a smear into the leg side for four. One over to go.
19th over: Australia 156-4 (Stoinis 64, David 4)
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18th over: Australia 139-3 (Warner 54, Stoinis 53) Warner goes long for SIX – skipping down the track and depositing Shakeel over long on. The bowler does well to restrict the damage, getting out of the over for nine runs in total. 12 balls left, Australia breathing a bit easier now.
17th over: Australia 130-3 (Warner 47, Stoinis 51) David Warner has been happy to park the ego and play second fiddle in the last few overs. Bilal Khan is back into the attack, Warner gets his partner on strike with a single off the first ball. Shot! A full toss wide of off stump is flicked away through the leg side for four by Stoinis. Uh oh! A full toss above waist height is smeared away for SIX by Stoinis. That’s fifty up for him off 27 balls and Bilal will have to bowl another. If they can find a ball that is, the last one was last seen bouncing through the car park. Just a single off the last ball but a chunky 16 runs off the over.
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16th over: Australia 106-3 (Warner 45, Stoinis 39) That was so impressive from Stoinis – he didn’t try snd overhit but held his shape and timed each six sweetly. Oman’s heads drop a little. Shakeel does well to restrict a now ticking Stoinis and Australia to 8 runs off the over. Four to go – Australia eyeing up 150 now, seemed unlikely just a few overs ago.
15th over: Australia 106-3 (Warner 42, Stoinis 35) Stoinis clubs three four sixes! Step and hit. Bish, Bash and Bosh. And BOSH again! Mehran Khan is too full and Stoinis swings him away down the ground repeatedly with apparent ease! A huge over for Australia and a real momentum shift – 26 runs off the over.
14th over: Australia 80-3 (Warner 42, Stoinis 9) Captain Aqib finishes his four overs impressively and ends up with 0-18. Wonderful. He finds the edge of Stoinis’ bat too but the keeper can’t hold on to a tough chance stood up. Adam Zampa will be licking his lips at the sight of this wicket. Can Australia get to a defendable target?
13th over: Australia 75-3 (Warner 40, Stoinis 7) Zeeshan Maqsood to continue the theme of left arm darting spin. Four singles off the over, Stoinis tries to muscle one away but can’t beat the in field. He gives a shrug and a rueful smile as he gets down the non-strikers’ end. Warner gets a boundary! Helping a leg side ball past the man on the ‘45. London Buses. Warner pounces on a full one and laces it through the covers for four more.
12th over: Australia 63-3 (Warner 30, Stoinis 5) Aqib Ilyas continues. He’s got the off spinner and the leg spinner in his armoury. Eeesht. Ilyas slips in a googly for good measure too and then follows up with a big turning ball that slides past Stoinis’ edge. Wonderful bowling. Australia are boundary-less in the last four overs.
Aqib Ilyas had said by the end of the night, it’ll be the Australians who’ll be talking about his players. Well, we’ll all be certainly talking about his catch off Glenn Maxwell for a long time to come. Slow pitch or not, this has been brilliant from Oman #T20WorldCup
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) June 6, 2024
Updated
11th over: Australia 60-3 (Warner 28, Stoinis 4) Mehran Khan has been quite brilliant so far. He slips another over in and has 2-12 from his three overs. Something has gotta give soon you feel…
10th over: Australia 56-3 (Warner 26, Stoinis 2) Halfway through the innings and time for a slurp of luminous liquid for the players. Peppermint tea in my dressing gown pour moi. Very Noel Coward.
Australia are in a scrap in Barbados.
9th over: Australia 52-3 (Warner 23, Stoinis 1) Excuse me whilst I drool over the many replays of that catch by Aqib Ilyas. No hat-trick for Mehran Khan as Stoinis bunts the delivery down the ground for a single. Warner does the same. Two runs and two wickets off the over. Have I mentioned the catch? Soon as I can I’ll slap it up here for all to enjoy.
WICKET! Maxwell c Aqib Ilyas b Mehran Khan 0 (Australia 50-3)
A STONKINGLY GOOD CATCH! Aqib pulls off a diving catch in the covers to dismiss Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck! Mehran Khan is on a hat-trick!
WICKET! Marsh c Shoaib Khan b Mehran Khan 14 (Australia 50-2)
Caught at long on! In the slot from Mehran Khan but the Big Bison can’t clear the boundary rider!
8th over: Australia 50-1 (Warner 22, Marsh 14) Captain Aqib brings himself on for a bowl. Warner pushes into the covers for a single and in doing so goes past Aaron Finch to become Australia’s leading scorer in men’s T20Is. Finch is at the ground doing commentary and the two men somehow catch each other’s eye and have a giggle. A nice moment. Marsh nails a sweep for four to get the score to 50. Australia haven’t been able to get away here.
7th over: Australia 43-1 (Warner 21, Marsh 8) Mehran Khan into the attack with his box of medium pace cutters. He took 3-7 in the game against Namibia and was excellent. Marsh is tied down by the first two balls… but the third one is a front foot no ball! FREE HIT – Warner is down on one knee again and slices the wide but overcooked yorker away for a freebie four. Warner pings the ball into the ring where it is well stopped. Now then, keeper Athavale whips the bails off in lightning fashion off the final ball – a play and miss from Warner – has the opener toppled over here? Nope. Not out. Good work from Athavale though.
6th over: Australia 37-1 (Warner 17, Marsh 7) Shakheel again, he skids one onto Marsh’s pads and then hurries him up on the back foot with a scudder that keeps low. Shot! Marsh drives in the gap wide of cover for four, his first really fluent shot. He’ll be feeling the nerves this evening in his first run out as skipper. Swing and a miss! Marsh is nearly cleaned up having a huge mow across the line. A dot ball finishes the over and the PowerPlay – it’s been a nifty one for Oman.
5th over: Australia 32-1 (Warner 17, Marsh 2) Kaleemullah keeps Marsh honest, three dots and then a single off a sloppy bit of fielding in the ring. Warner has a better time of it – steering for two and then getting down on one knee to scoop away for a one bounce four.
4th over: Australia 25-1 (Warner 11, Marsh 1) Shakeel Ahmed into the attack with his pacey left arm spin. Gah! His first ball is a drag down that Warner clubs away for four. The bowler is on the button after that though, round the wicket and with a flat trajectory, firing it in at the stumps and pads. He beats Warner’s edge and gets out of the over for just six runs in total.
Updated
3rd over: Australia 19-1 (Warner 6, Marsh 0) Mitch Marsh arrives at the crease. Oman have a slip in place and Bilal Khan has his dander up. Marsh blocks back the final two balls of the over. Good stuff this.
WICKET! Head c Khalid Kail b Bilal Khan 12 (Australia 19-1)
Head can’t clear mid off with a lofted drive that was neither one thing nor t’other! Catch safely held and Oman are jubilant!
2nd over: Australia 13-0 (Warner 5, Head 7) Kaleemullah shares the new orb. He offers Warner width on a length and is duly spanked through the covers. Next ball he pins Warner on the pads and goes up for a HUGE appeal – he even trots towards towards Umpire Joel Wilson as he bellows. The Umpire says not out and then has a quiet word. “Don’t do that again, son” or something along those lines. It was sliding down. It’s another good over from Oman though, Head nearly chops on off the final ball throwing his hands at a ball on a fifth stump line, the ball squirting past his leg pole.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Warner 1, Head 5) Warner clips off his pads to get off the mark first ball. Head blasts his first ball across the baize square of the wicket for four! The shot of a man in form and full of confidence. Bilal Khan tightens up though and there’s just one more single off the over. A decent start for Oman, who started with two slips in place… and soon removed one to bolster the field. They are up for this though!
Righto. Travis Head, meaty walrus moustache looking resplendent under the Barbados moon and fresh off a frighteningly good IPL campaign is striding out with equally hirsute Davey Warner. Bilal Khan is going to start for Oman with his skiddy left arm seam. Play!
The players are readying themselves on the boundary edge. It looks a clear and warm evening in Barbados. I could say much the same for South London…
You’ve got just about enough time to read Angus Fontaine on Mitch Marsh:
Teams:
Australia go in without Pat Cummins or Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis is given the nod.
Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Oman: Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale (wk), Aqib llyas (capt), Zeesham Maqsood, Khalid Kail, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mehran Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan
Oman win the toss and choose to bowl
Aqib Ilyas calls the coin correctly and says his side will chase, telling Nasser Hussain that, “It’s a fresh pitch and the bowlers did well last game, they are more confident.”
Mitchell Marsh loses his first toss as Captain but seems in good cheer as per. He says Australia would have bowled first as well. Full teams incoming!
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the OBO of Australia v Oman at the Kensington Oval. It’s Group B, it’s Barbados and it’s erm not quite the BIG ONE. Australia and England will duke it out on Saturday and there’s a little more spice sprinkled on that match already after the rain washed out the current holders’ first game against Scotland yesterday. With the points shared there is even less wiggle room in the group but Australia have the opportunity to get some breathing space, a win today will see them join Namibia at the top of the pile.
We’ll come to nascent Captain Mitch Marsh’s outfit shortly – but what of their opponents today? Oman narrowly lost their opening fixture to Namibia on a Super Over, they’ve never come up against Australia before but their Captain, Aqib Ilyas, was wonderfully bullish in his pre-match presser - stating that whilst they respect the Australian players…
“Once you step into the field, there is no big name, there is no one bigger than you… It’s another game for us and we don’t think that we are going to play someone extraordinary.”
Ilyas will be hoping that the Kensington Oval wicket is something of a stodgy turner and thus allow his side of many spinners the opportunity to get to work stiflin’ and skittlin’ the powerhouse Australian outfit.
Australia? Well m’colleague Martin Pegan has done the hard yards so I don’t have to, thanks to him for preparing something a little earlier on where the Aussies are at.
Australia will again be hoping that familiarity breeds success as they aim to complete the set of ICC silverware at the T20 World Cup in the US and Caribbean. To put the finishing touches on the historic haul, the current men’s ODI World Cup and World Test Championship titleholders have turned to an experienced squad that has been key to the glory days, though this time will be under the guidance of Mitch Marsh in his first major tournament as captain.
The 15-player squad includes nine from the XI that lined up in the T20 World Cup final three years ago when Australia broke New Zealand hearts to clinch what remains the men’s only triumph from eight attempts. The concern is that much the same group of players were unable to hit similar heights when failing to progress past the group stage on home soil a year later. Travis Head and Nathan Ellis are the only fresh faces this time around.
Australia might have only won the men’s T20 World Cup once in eight attempts but, as became increasingly apparent at the ODI World Cup last year, always carry an imposing aura into international tournaments. While no nation has held all three men’s ICC titles at once, let alone considering that Australia’s all-conquering women’s outfit also have a firm grip on their ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup crowns, the current squad has the runs on the board to be trusted to now entrench their legacy and lay down another marker to be considered among the all-time greats.”
You heard the man – Australia’s hunt for the third ICC gong starts here.
Play gets underway in Barbados at 8:30pm local time, 10:30am AEST and 1:30am BST where I am in foggy old London town.
Do get in touch if you are tuning in – I’m on the email and X @Jimbo_Cricket for my sins.
