Australia cruised to a 7-wicket win over Namibia in their first warm-up game
The craze for cricket is going to increase massively as the T20 World Cup 2024 is going to start on June 1, 2024. Before the World Cup, each team participating in it will have to play 1 or 2 warm-up matches to know the conditions of cricket pitches in the USA. The first warm-up match kicked off between Australia and Namibia, in which Australia beat Namibia by 7 wickets on Wednesday in its first T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match at the Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad.
Australia were dominant in all three departments of cricket: batting, bowling, and fielding. They didn’t give Namibia a chance to make a comeback in the game. But the most shocking thing that happened today in the game is that Australia took the field with only nine players as its senior players are emerging from the heavy workload of IPL 2024, which ended recently. Fielding coach Andre Borovec, batting coach Brad Hodge, head coach Andrew McDonald, and selection chief George Bailey had to come in the field at regular time intervals to complete the 11-player lineup.
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Match Summary:
No one could do anything in front of Australia’s bowlers
Australian captain Mitch Marsh won the toss and decided to field. Australia invited Namibia to bat first. Usually, the pitches in the USA and West Indies are slow, so the team winning the toss would like to ball first to be aware of the conditions. Australian medium-pacer Josh Hazlewood led the bowling department of the team’s. He troubled Namibian batters very much, didn’t give them a chance to score a single run in his first 3 overs, and ended his 4-over spell by taking 2 wickets and conceding only 5 runs.
Star-spinner Adam Zampa didn’t give up runs easily and built the pressure in middle overs, forcing batters to play big shots. He was successful in his trap and completed his spell with 3/25. Fast bowler Nathan Ellis and all-rounder Tim David also took 1 wicket each.
The Namibian top and middle order failed to score big runs, as none of the batsmen in their top 6 were able to touch the 20-run mark. But some late but impactful innings from wicketkeeper-batsmen Zane Green, Malan Green, and David Wiese somehow helped Namibia reach a respectable score of 119 runs with a loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs. They scored 38, 18, and 12 runs, respectively, to lift up their team from the scare of strong Australian bowling.
After initial setbacks, the score was chased in a jiffy
Australia came to chase 120 runs in the 2nd inning. In response to the 119 runs total for Namibia, Australian captain Mitch Marsh got run-out on the score of 18 due to a bad mixup. Their No. 3 batsman, Josh Inglis, also got out cheaply by scoring only 5 runs on 4 balls. Austalia were in all sorts of trouble, but a stormy innings of 54 runs in 21 balls from the experienced batter David Warner helped the team move on from the trouble and register a comfortable 7-wicket win in their first warm-up match.
All-rounder Tim David played caustiously by scoring 23 runs off 16 balls, in which 3 fours and a six were involved, helping Warner play big shots. In the end, after David’s wicket, wicketkeeper Mathew Wade supported Warner with a very small but fiery knock of 12 runs only in 5 balls, in which he hit 2 fours. Australia chased down this small score within 10 overs, with another 10 overs left.
Australia will start their T20 World Cup 2024 run by playing their first group stage match against Oman on June 5. Before, they will have to play another warm-up match against home side West Indies, which is full of explosive batters. There are two groups in which all playing teams in the T20 World Cup 2024 are divided: Group A and Group B. Australia is in Group B with Namibia, Oman, Scotland, and two-time T20 world cup champions England.
