BARBADOS: A combined batting and bowling effort led Australia to a thumping 36-run victory over England in the 17th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
Set to chase 202, England could only manage 165/6 in the allotted 20 overs despite a strong start.
England had a flying start to the run chase as openers Jos Buttler and Phil Salt dominated the Australian bowlers in the early phase of the innings.
The opening pair took England to 73 in seven overs but Adam Zampa dismissed Salt on the first delivery of the eighth over to provide Australia a much-needed breakthrough.
Salt scored 37 off 23 deliveries with the help of four fours and two sixes.
Buttler then put on a brief partnership with Will Jacks (10) before both perished in quick succession, bringing the total down to 96/3 in 10.5 overs.
Jos Buttler remained the top-scorer for England with 28-ball 42 which included five fours and two sixes.
The back-to-back dismissals halted the flow of runs for the defending champions as the fourth-wicket partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali yielded just 28 runs in 20 deliveries.
Bairstow scored seven off 13 deliveries while Moeen scored a 15-ball 25 before falling victim to Pat Cummins in the 16th over.
With England requiring 74 off 26 deliveries, Liam Livingstone (12) joined Harry Brook in the middle and the duo could add 24 runs amid their sixth-wicket partnership which lasted with the former’s dismissal in the penultimate over.
England then needed 50 off the final over which Marcus Stoinis comfortably defended to guide Australia to a thumping victory.
For Australia, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa claimed two wickets each while Stoinis and Josh Hazlewood made one scalp each.
Put into bat first, the former champions registered a formidable total on the board, courtesy of a flying start provided by their openers Travis Head and David Warner.
Head and Warner smashed the England bowlers from the word go and went on to record a blistering 70-run partnership, which ended on the last delivery of the fifth over when Moeen Ali cleaned up the latter.
Warner struck two fours and four sixes on his way to a 16-ball 39 and top-scored for Australia.
His opening partner Head soon followed him as he fell victim to Jofra Archer in the next over. He scored a quickfire 34 off 18 balls, laced up with two fours and three sixes.
Skipper Mitchell Marsh then partnered with Glenn Maxwell and carried on the momentum.
The pair added 65 runs for the third wicket at a brisk rate before both perished in quick succession, bringing Australia’s total down to 141/4 in 14.2 overs.
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Marsh scored a 25-ball 35 with the help of four boundaries including two sixes while Maxwell scored an anchoring 28 off 25.
In-form Marcus Stonis then took the reigns of Australia’s batting charge and stitched brief partnerships with Tim David (11) and Matthew Wade before walking back to the dugout in the final over.
Stoinis made a vital contribution with a quick 30 off 17 balls, hitting two fours and as many sixes.
Wicketkeeper batter Matthew Wade, however, carried his bat all the way through and returned unbeaten on 17 off 10 deliveries.
Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers for England, picking up two wickets, while Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Moeen and Archer struck out a batter apiece.
For the unversed, Australia are second in Group B of the T20 World Cup 2024 with two points after one game while defending champions England are placed fourth with one point, owing to a wash-out against Scotland.
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