Australian bowler Mitchell Starc announced his arrival in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup by delivering a fiery spell to register a hat-trick in the warm-up match against the Netherlands. Starc eliminated three batters for the Golden Ducks with three nearly similar inswingers. He first struck Max O’Dowd in front of the stumps before shattering Wesley Barresi and Bas de Leede’s woodwork. The match between Australia and the Netherlands was called off due to rain, but both teams had a chance to bat and bowl.
Australia batted for just 23 overs as rain shrunk overs. The Aussies finished at 166/7. While the Netherlands played only 14.2 overs and scored 84/6 as rain abandoned the game,
Steve Smith and Josh Inglis opened the batting, but the latter’s stint at the crease ended early with an excellent delivery by Logan van Beek. Meanwhile, Smith was on fire, scoring a blistering 55 off 42 balls that included four boundaries and three maximums. Australia lost Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell to the spin of Roelof van der Merwe and Shariz Ahmad in short succession. Mitchell Starc came in at No. 6 after Smith was dismissed; he scored an unbeaten 24 off 22 balls. Cameron Green added some much-needed power to the innings with a 26-ball 34 as Australia finished at 166/7 in 23 overs. In reply, Mitchell Starc’s breathtaking hat-trick blew the Netherlands away. While Mitchell Marsh dismissed Vikramjit Singh following Starc, The Netherlands never recovered from the early wicket setback. Colin Ackermann and Scott Edwards were the only two batters to reach double figures. The rain returned in the 14th over, and the match was abandoned with the Netherlands at 84/6.
The Dutch will now play against India in their second warm-up match on Tuesday. Australia will face Pakistan in Hyderabad on the same day.
