Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood looks to be in great touch, with days leading up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, slated to start on June 2. He featured in Australia’s first warm-up game against Namibia on Wednesday, May 29. While Adam Zampa hit the headline by fetching a three-wicket haul, Hazlewood was quite economical during his four-over spell. The Aussie speedster picked two scalps while giving away only 5 runs as his team restricted Namibia to 119 runs at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago. Referring to his top-quality bowling, Cricket Australia dropped a post on Instagram with the caption, “No ‘warm-up’ mentality for Josh Hazlewood!”
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Josh Hazlewood conceded no run in the first three overs. He got the better of both openers of the Namibia side– Michael van Lingen and Niko Davin– with the new ball. In his last over, the African side managed four singles and was benefitted by a no-ball. Hazlewood also demonstrated his fielding prowess in the final delivery of his spell, contributing to the run-out of Malan Kruger.
Six members of the Australian squad– Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis– have yet to reach the West Indies for the T20 World Cup. These players were involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when the rest of the Australian unit jetted off to the Caribbean.
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As the Aussies were short of players, four members of the coaching staff had to feature in the opening warm-up match against Namibia to fill the vacant spaces. Head coach Andrew McDonald, national selector George Bailey and assistant coaches Brad Hodge and Andre Borovec came out on the field as substitute fielders.
Despite playing with a nine-man squad, Australia didn’t face many difficulties to overcome Namibia in the light-hearted encounter. After Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa’s enthralling performance in the first innings, David Warner wreaked havoc with the bat. The veteran Aussie opener struck an unbeaten 54 off just 21 deliveries. His blazing knock was laced with six boundaries and three sixes.
Among others, captain Mitchell Marsh scored 18, Tim David contributed 23 to the scoresheet and Matthew Wade chipped in with a 12-run cameo. Thanks to their collective efforts, Australia chased down the paltry target in just 10 overs to secure a seven-wicket win.
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In their next warm-up match, Australia will take on co-hosts West Indies on May 31 in Trinidad and Tobago. The former champions will open their T20 World Cup campaign with a match against Oman on June 6.
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