Team Australia(AUS), riding high on the back of winning two major ICC trophies, including the 2023 World Cup and the 2021-23 World Test Championship, is set to kick off their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a clash against Oman. T20 World Cup 2024 will witness the Australia(AUS) take to the field for the first time in this campaign.
Mitchell Marsh and his side will hope to make it a hat-trick of ICC titles as they take on Oman at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Oman have already played at this venue as they went down in a heroic effort against the Namibians. This highly anticipated match, scheduled for Thursday, June 6, will take place at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
AUS vs OMN Previous Performances
Australia (AUS) will come out all guns blazing and will look to outplay the Oman side with the bat and ball. One of the concerns will be the form of Glenn Maxwell, who hasn’t fired with the bat during the IPL. Mitchell Starc, fresh off his exploits for KKR, will want to carry on the same form as will star batter Travis Head.
Oman (OMN) had to endure a heartbreak when they nearly pulled off an amazing defence of their rather small total on the board. Their loss to Namibia in the Super Over is already the best game in the early stages of the tournament. Aqib Ilyas will want his batters to perform better, as he has a very decent-looking bowling attack to put the opposition under pressure.
AUS vs OMN Head to Head
Australia and Oman will be first time meeting on the World Stage and Oman will look to impress all while playing the world champions. The match between Australia and Oman is their first ever encounter ever as the two sides haven’t played each other yet. Mitchell Marsh will want to make it a perfect trio as he leads the Aussies and look to win their 2nd T20 World Cup title. Pat Cummins has already led the Kangaroos to two ICC titles in 2023 with wins in the Test Championships and ODI World Cups.
Most of the Australian players are in good form after their involvement in the IPL. David Warner is set to play in his last ICC tournament and the left-handed batter will want to bow out on a high. Travis Head has been in great form with the bat during the IPL and was one of the top batters.
With the ball, the Aussies will be led by their pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins. Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar will be the ones to watch out for in the spin department. Oman on the other hand will come into the contest looking to do better with the bat after their dismal showing in their previous match against Namibia.
AUS vs OMN Pitch Report
Historically, Barbados is known to be a paradise for pace bowlers, and the batters enjoy it too if they get their eye in. With the conditions expected to be cloudy, there will be a good amount of swing and seam for the bowlers. It may not be a high-scoring encounter once again, but chasing could be the most popular choice for the captain calling the toss right.
In the game under lights between Oman and Namibia the pitch was very tricky, but the indications were it was easier in the daytime as Scotland’s openers enjoyed themselves against England. Australia-Oman is a night game that is expected to be played on a fresh surface. Eyes will be on the weather after the rain which arrived on Tuesday although the forecast is more promising for this game.
AUS vs OMN Big Picture
Australia dominated ICC events last year with the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup prizes. Now they begin their quest to be champions across all three formats. Could it be called the men’s cricket Grand Slam Well, the 50-over Champions Trophy returns next year but let’s not allow such details to get in the way of an intro.
They reached the final of the T20 World Cup when it was held in the Caribbean in 2010 when they fell short against England, but after that it wasn’t until 2021 that they left a mark on the tournament by breaking their title duck in the UAE. Their defence on home soil the following year was disappointing, but the majority of that side remains to have another crack this time.
Their opening game will bring them up against Oman for the first time which, on paper, should be a significant mismatch. Oman began their tournament with a Super Over defeat against Namibia having shown tremendous resilience to take the game that deep and their captain Aqib Ilyas was talking up the opportunity his team had to make names for themselves.
It has been a disjointed build-up for Australia with just nine players available for the two warm-up matches against Namibia and West Indies (Brad Hodge, George Bailey and Andrew McDonald were back in the fold to make up numbers in the field) after those who appeared late into the IPL were given a chance to return home for a few days.
There have been some long journeys since – Cameron Green said it took Mitchell Starc about 60 hours to reach Barbados – and some delayed luggage along the way, but everyone has been together for a few days and, as history shows, put a global trophy on the line and Australia players tend to lift.
This tournament could mark the beginning of a transition in Australia’s white-ball cricket. David Warner’s international career will come to a close in the next few weeks while there are others who are closer to the end than the beginning. They are being led for the first time at a global event by Mitchell Marsh whose rise to the captaincy is the latest chapter in the terrific story of his revival at international level.
AUS vs OMN In the spotlight: Glenn Maxwell and Bilal Khan
Glenn Maxwell had a shocker of an IPL with the bat as he averaged just 5.77 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Australia will hope that another World Cup tilt sparks him back into form. He may not be vital in getting across the line against Oman, but is a crucial part to Australia’s middle order.
Do not underestimate the role his offspin could play (his bowling form held up well in the IPL) after he was the second spinner at the ODI World Cup last year. A reminder, too, that in his last seven T20Is he has scores of 104 not out off 48 balls and 120 not out off 55 balls.
Left-armer Bilal Khan started well when he removed Michael van Lingen with the second ball of Namibia’s chase. His experience was then entrusted with the Super Over despite the outstanding effort of Mehran Khan to take the team that deep. It did not work out for Oman with Bilal conceding 21 against David Wiese.
AUS vs OMN Vital Stats that matter
- Adam Zampa starts the World Cup needing eight wickets to become the first Australia male cricketer to 100 in T20Is.
- Before Travis Head returned to the Australia T20I side last year his strike-rate in T20 cricket was 131.39, now it sits at 142.34.
- Captain Aqib Ilyas will play his 50th T20I when he faces Australia.
AUS vs OMN Probable Playing 11
Australia Playing XI: 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk.), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Oman Playing XI: 1 Kashyap Prajapati, 2 Naseem Khushi (wk.), 3 Aqib llyas (capt), 4 Zeeshan Maqsood, 5 Khalid Kail, 6 Ayaan Khan, 7 Mohammad Nadeem, 8 Mehran Khan, 9 Shakeel Ahmed, 10 Kaleemullah, 11 Bilal Khan
AUS vs OMN Fantasy XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan
AUS vs OMN Match Prediction
Seeing the strengths and weaknesses of both teams it seems Oman would be an easy start for Australia in World T20 2024.