Key events
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
James Wallace
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.
