NEW DELHI: Australia's veteran support staff stepped up to fill in as they comfortably defeated Namibia in their opening
T20 World Cup
warm-up match in Trinidad.
David Warner
, putting his disappointing IPL season behind him, led the charge for the nine-man Australian team, helping them chase down Namibia's total of 9-119 with ease.
Despite having four support staff members over the age of 40 acting as substitute fielders at one point, the Australians restricted the 14th-ranked men's T20I team to a modest total at Queen's Park Oval.
Also see: India T20 World Cup squad: List of players, match date, time and venue
Namibia had been struggling at 6-50, but managed to recover somewhat. However, Warner's unbeaten 54 off just 21 balls, which included three sixes and six boundaries, ensured a seven-wicket victory with 10 overs to spare, showing no signs of the hand injury he sustained during the IPL.
The Australian team was short on players, with only nine of their World Cup squad having arrived in Port of Spain. The remaining six players -
Pat Cummins
,
Travis Head
, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc,
Glenn Maxwell
, and Cameron Green - were given extra time at home following the conclusion of the IPL.
As a result, selection chief George Bailey (41), fielding coach Andre Borovec (46), batting coach Brad Hodge (49), and head coach Andrew McDonald took to the field at various points during the match, all performing admirably.
Captain Mitch Marsh, still recovering from a hamstring injury, only fielded for half of the Namibia innings and was run out due to a mix-up with Warner while opening the batting.
Tim David
(23 off 16) and Josh Inglis (5) also contributed to the chase.
Josh Hazlewood, playing his first match in nearly three months, was impressive with figures of 4-3-2-5, while
Adam Zampa
(3-25) and Nathan Ellis also performed well. Namibia's Zane Green (38 off 30) took advantage of part-timer Tim David's bowling (0-39) to boost their total.
Australia will play their second and final warm-up game against West Indies on Thursday at the same venue, with the possibility of Marcus Stoinis returning to the squad.
Australia's squad for 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup
Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Australia's Group B fixtures
June 6: v Oman, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 10.30am AEST
June 9: v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 3am AEST
June 12: v Namibia, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10.30am AEST
June 16: v Scotland, Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, 10.30am AEST
(Inputs from agencies)
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