Stoinis all-round show helps Aussies cruise past Oman

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

A DYNAMIC Player-of-the-Match performance from Marcus Stoinis enabled double crown world champions Australia to waltz past Oman by 39 runs in the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday in Barbados.

The 34-year-old came to the rescue of the reigning Test and One-day International world champions with a purposeful 67 not out off 36 balls that included three fours and six sixes, and the Australians reached 164 for five in their opening Group B match under the lights at Kensington Oval.

Long-standing left-handed opener David Warner supported with a resolute 56 from 51 balls that included six fours and one six and shared a 102-run, fourth-wicket stand with Stoinis to rescue the Aussies from a shaky 50 for three in the ninth over on a slow pitch.

Warner, playing in his final global tournament before retirement from the international stage, went past former Australia captain Aaron Finch for the most runs in T20Is for the Baggy Greens with a current aggregate of 3,155.

20 OVERS

Stoinis returned with the ball to undermine the Omani batting with three for 19 from three overs, and three other bowlers grabbed two wickets, restricting the gulf side to 125 for nine from their allocation of 20 overs.

“I mean it’s nice to start the tournament well,” Stoinis said. “It’s just one game, but it’s nice to start it well. It’s nice to spend time in the middle. I have been playing a lot recently, but I still have had a good two weeks off without a game, so it’s nice to start the tournament well.

“It [the pitch] wasn’t a shock. I think from watching the games so far, it seems like that’s going to be the theme of the tournament. But it’s one thing watching it from the side and then another thing to adapt yourself while you’re out there, so it was fine. It just took some getting used to.”

On his role in the Australia batting, he added: “I’ve played all these roles before. I mean, I played the first half of the IPL (Indian Premier League T20) in that role. I played, I don’t know how many games, six games, seven games at three, so all of it’s nice.

“I think that’s one of the luxuries of where I’m at now in my career … I’ve seen all these sort of situations. It doesn’t make it easier to deal with, but you at least have an idea of what you want to do.”