The first big heavyweight match – a day before India meet Pakistan – failed to live up to the billing as Australia impressively squeezed their old rivals,who hit only three boundaries in the last six overs at Bridgetown’s Kensington Oval.
Matthew Wade speaks to umpire Nitin Menon after a delivery he felt should have been a dead ball.Getty Images
There was,however,a heated moment between the Ashes rivals,featuring Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and England captain Jos Buttler during the Australians’ batting innings.
Wade pulled away from facing up to England leg-spinner Adil Rashid,seemingly because of music playing over the ground’s loudspeakers,but umpire Nitin Menon did not signal a dead ball as Wade felt he should have. The Australian blocked the delivery,and exchanged words with Buttler behind the stumps.
Buttler later admitted that as captain he could have agreed to call the ball dead and have Rashid bowl it again.
“I think he pulled away and then played it,so I think the umpire was like,‘Well,you sort of played it’,but he said he pulled away,” Buttler told reporters at Kensington Oval.
“And to be honest,I was thinking about many other things at that point. Whether I should have said,‘I don’t know if he pulled away and let’s just carry on’. But the umpire seemed to be like,‘Well,because he played it,it’s a dot ball’.
“I can’t speak for him,whether he looked up late,but he seemed ready and then pulled out very late and I think that’s what the umpire was saying.”
Australia were the first side to reach the 200 mark in this tournament,smashing their way to a total of 7-201 to leave the defending champions facing a daunting run chase.
Warner blasted 39 from 16 balls,including four sixes and two fours,and Head contributed 34 off 18 as Australia advanced to 2-74 at the end of the powerplay.
Australia’s David Warner led Australia to victory against England during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.AP
Moeen Ali bowled Warner to make the breakthrough at 1-70 after five overs and Jofra Archer dismissed Head,also bowled,as England fought back with two quick wickets.
England reached 0-54 in the powerplay and Moeen hit three sixes in the 14th over. However,he departed in the 16th over for 25 from 15 balls after lofting a catch to Warner on the boundary to leave England in serious trouble on 5-128.
Buttler had earlier hit a top-scoring 42 from 28 balls but England finished well short on 6-165.
Australia,the ODI World Cup and world Test champions,are second in Group B after two games. Winless England are fourth,with Oman and Namibia to come.
Earlier,David Miller bailed South Africa out of deep trouble against their bogy team the Netherlands in a four-wicket win on Long Island.
The Netherlands were going for a hat-trick of wins against South Africa in World Cups,after winning their T20 in 2022 and one-day international in 2023.
Reuters,AP
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