The Australian bowling attack was given a World Cup warning from the West Indies as Nicholas Pooran went berserk with the bat in the final warm-up ahead of the tournament’s start in the Caribbean next week.
All-rounder Marcus Stoinis finally joined the squad in Trinidad, taking the total of squad members on the ground to 10. But he couldn’t play after a luggage mix-up in transit leaving support staff to field again and just two frontline quicks able to bowl at Queen’s Park Oval.
The lack of preparation for the Australians showed compared to the Windies who were coming off a 3-0 T20 series win over South Africa in Jamaica.
Outside of the opening warm-up win over Namibia on Wednesday, spin star Adam Zampa hadn’t played a game since the T20 series in New Zealand ended on February 25 and was whacked for 21 runs off his opening over and 22 off his last amid an onslaught from the home team.
Fellow slow bowler Ashton Agar’s previous match was a one-day game for WA, also in February, and he was sent for 37 runs his opening two overs, finishing with 1-58 from four as the Windies piled on 4-257, including 18 sixes.
Zampa’s final figures of 2-62 were among his worst ever.
The massive total came after an early blitzkrieg from Pooran which included eight sixes and five fours before he was out for 75 off just 25 balls and the home team was 2-128 when he was out.
My shot tracer doesn’t do it justice. Big hit from Pooran #T20WorldCup https://t.co/3RPX3iZKSZ pic.twitter.com/8nemwon4Eg
— Josh Schönafinger (@joshschon) May 30, 2024
Them Rovman Powell (52 from 25 balls with four sixes) joined in the big-hitting fun to leave the Aussie bowlers floundering.
Josh Hazlewood, who skipped the IPL for the birth of his first child and took 2-5 against Namibia on Wednesday, wasn’t spared, hit for two sixes in his final over as he finished with 0-55.
Nathan Ellis, the only other frontline fast bowler available in Trinidad who had played just a single game during his time with the Punjab Kings in India, showed his worth at the end of the innings.
He conceded only four runs in the 18th over but was whacked for fours off the final two balls in the 20th amid the onslaught.