Australia claimed a crucial win over Ireland at the T20 World Cup that improved the nation’s chances of reaching the semi final.
Having set Ireland a target of 180 runs to win on Monday night, Australia was ruthless with the ball early, but after a Lorcan Tucker counterpunch, settled for a 42-run win.
Here’s how every Australian rated against Ireland at the Gabba.
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DAVID WARNER — 1.5
3 off 7
A timid start from the left-hander — and it ended up costing him his wicket. He curiously turned a seemingly innocuous short ball from Barry McCarthy straight to short fine leg. Nasser Hussain questioned why he simply didn’t go upstairs and clear the fielder. Warner no doubt would’ve asked himself the same thing back in the rooms.
AARON FINCH — 7.5
63 off 44
That will do him the world of good, even if he’s still not quite there. Finch is back in the runs after a night that saw him hit three sixes and five fours on the way to a half-century. He took a long time to get going — he only made 40 from his first 36 balls — but when the opportunity arose, he took it. Mark Adair lost the plot in the 15th over and Finch was sure to cash in. It turned the tide in the first innings and ensured Australia posted a big total, although Finch looked like he ran out of steam. Far bigger tests will come.
MITCHELL MARSH — 4.5
28 off 22
Looked like he was starting to hit his stride with two massive sixes to get the Australian innings going. His eyes then lit up for a short and wide delivery from McCarthy that should’ve been dispatched, too. Marsh might’ve been guilty of trying to overhit it and ended up caught behind. He’ll feel like plenty of runs were left out there.
GLENN MAXWELL — 7
13 off 9
2-14, economy 6.46
Looked to attack early on and ended up following the trend of giving away a soft wicket. The ball from Josh Little was outside the tramline and Maxwell went after it, and only succeeded in tickling the ball through to the keeper. Australia needed to start putting the foot on the accelerator and the wicket in the 11th over didn’t help the cause at the time.
Came on to bowl in the powerplay and had an instant impact, taking two wickets to stop Ireland in its tracks after a decent first two overs. A great night with the ball.
MARCUS STOINIS — 7
35 off 24
1-6, economy 6.00
Showed some of the great touch that he was in against Sri Lanka once again. He was a big part of taking the game away from Ireland alongside Finch, although he didn’t finish the job as Australia hunted for a big final two overs. Picked up a wicket in his one over too boost his score.
TIM DAVID — 4
15* off 10
The scene was set nicely with David coming in for the final three overs with little to lose. The fireworks didn’t quite come, though, with just the two boundaries while his night ended early with a hamstring complaint.
MATTHEW WADE — N/A
7 off 3*
Faced just the three balls at the death with one of those being a boundary.
PAT CUMMINS — 6
2-28, economy 7.00
Opened the bowling with Josh Hazlewood and there was concern it might be another expensive night when his first three balls went for 10 runs. He responded with a wicket, although the batting was questionable with Andy Balbirnie walking across his stumps. He picked up another one later and had a solid night with the ball.
In the field, he missed a sky ball completely that cost Mitchell Starc a wicket, although it had snow on it by the time it came back down. Nonetheless, it was awfully costly with Lorcan Tucker going from 36 to more than 71.
MITCHELL STARC — 5
2-43, economy 10.75
Eyebrows were raised when Mitchell Starc wasn’t given the new rock again, but he put the argument to bed in a hurry. Starc bowled the fourth over and blew away Curtis Campher and George Dockrell with brutal inswingers that crashed into the stumps. It was classic Starc. If only the night ended soon after. Instead, it ended on a sour note for Starc who conceded 18 runs off the 17th over with Australia’s net run rate boost getting smaller by the run.
ADAM ZAMPA — 8.5
2-19, economy 4.75
Zampa was brilliant with the ball with the Irish batters struggling to pick his variations out the hand. It yielded Zampa two wickets in the middle overs and, crucially, an economical display that helped the Aussies boost their net run rate. Not bad for a first game back from Covid.
JOSH HAZLEWOOD — 3.5
0-24, economy 8.00
It’s not often these days that Josh Hazlewood misses out, but he was Australia’s only bowler to not pick up a wicket. Went for eight runs an over in a quiet night for the quick.
