Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign has gotten off to a reassuring start, but question marks linger over Glenn Maxwell after another failure with the bat on Thursday morning AEST.
Mitchell Marsh’s men 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 hole.
After limping towards 3-50 in the ninth over, the veteran duo combined for a 102-run partnership for the fourth wicket to deny Oman any chance of an upset victory in the Barbados capital. Warner anchored the innings with a gritty 56 (51), while Stoinis cleared the boundary rope six times during his unbeaten 67 (36).
Both players were under pressure heading into the tournament — Warner had been dropped by Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting during the recent Indian Premier League, while young all-rounder Cameron Green has continued pushing his case for Stoinis’ spot in the Australian T20 team.
However, Warner and Stoinis have well and truly cemented their spot in the starting XI for the remainder of the marquee tournament.
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Warner caught up in comical mix-up! | 00:36
Warner, who will retire from international cricket following the T20 World Cup, registered just 168 runs at 21.00 during the recent IPL, utterly outclassed by Delhi teammate Jake Fraser-McGurk. The 37-year-old’s underwhelming form prompted speculation about his place in the national T20 side, with pundits calling for Fraser-McGurk to be parachuted into the starting XI.
The national selectors backed Warner to rediscover his best in the Caribbean — and he repaid their faith on Thursday morning.
The left-hander’s experience came to the fore as Australia’s top order struggled to tame the slow, dry deck at Kensington Oval. He nudged and prodded into gaps, judging length early and rarely whipping out extravagant sweeps or lofted drives throughout the cautious knock.
“He leads us from the top of the order every game,” Stoinis said of Warner during 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 more frequently than Warner, his skill and expertise during low-scoring affairs could prove invaluable over the coming weeks.
“It’s going to look a little bit different this tournament,” Australian captain Marsh said 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 through the gears after joining Warner in the ninth over, mustering just nine runs from his first 14 deliveries before racing towards his third T20I half-century. It was the all-rounder’s highest T20I score in nearly three years, allaying any doubts about his form.
The West Australian then snared three wickets during the run chase, including the crucial scalp of Oman captain Aqib Ilyas, to prove he’s more than capable of serving as Australia’s fifth bowler when required.
Stoinis, later named player of the match, finished with 3-19, the second-best bowling figures of his T20I career, becoming just the third cricketer to score a fifty and take three wickets during a T20 World Cup contest.
Ahead of this weekend’s mouth-watering clash against England, Maxwell’s lack of runs in the game’s shortest format remains a lingering concern for the Australians. During the recent IPL, the 35-year-old requested for himself to be dropped from the Royal Challengers Bangalore starting XI because he felt that he “wasn’t contributing in a positive way”.
Maxwell’s horror run of form continued in Bridgetown on Thursday, caught superbly by rival skipper Ilyas in the cover region for a golden duck. Since the start of April, the Victorian has compiled 52 runs in ten knocks at 5.20, including five ducks.
Australia will next face England at the same venue on Sunday morning, with the first ball scheduled for 3am AEST.