RESULT
24th Match, Group B (N), North Sound, June 11, 2024, ICC Men's T20 World Cup
(5.4/20 ov, T:73) 74/1

Australia won by 9 wickets (with 86 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
4/12
adam-zampa
Report

Zampa four-for seals Australia's Super Eight spot

The legspinner also became the first Australia men's player to 100 T20I wickets

Andrew McGlashan
Andrew McGlashan
12-Jun-2024 • Updated 1 hr ago
Australia 74 for 1 (Head 34*) beat Namibia 72 (Erasmus 36, Zampa 4-12) by nine wickets
Australia marched into the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup with a display of ruthless efficiency against Namibia as Adam Zampa brought up a century of T20I wickets before the top order needed less than the powerplay to chase down 73.
Mitchell Marsh's team continued to look like one of the best-rounded and well-drilled sides at the tournament and can now start to ponder the next stage with a game in hand - although the fixture against Scotland could have a huge bearing on who joins them in the Super Eight.
From the moment Josh Hazlewood struck in the third over there wasn't a moment where it did not feel as though this would be a vast margin of victory for Australia and they made sure that was the case. Mitchell Starc had been rested after not pulling up 100% after the England game and with an eye on a condensed schedule ahead, Nathan Ellis again slotted in seamlessly as all Australia's bowlers got in the wickets.
The final margin of balls remaining in Australia's charge to the line was 86, the second most in men's T20Is.

Powerplay perfection

There was a touch of extra bounce in the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium surface and Australia's tall quicks made the most of it. Michael van Lingen managed a brace of early boundaries off Hazlewood and Marcus Stoinis - the latter handed the new ball in place of Starc - but Nikolaas Davin perished to Hazlewood when he slashed to backward point. In his first over, Pat Cummins had Jan Frylinck taken at mid-off after an uncomfortable three deliveries then in the next, van Lingen became the second to find Glenn Maxwell at backward point, unable to keep the ball down. Stoinis closed out the powerplay by conceding just a single off the sixth over and Namibia stood at 17 for 3 with their captain Gerhard Erasmus scoreless from ten deliveries.

Erasmus' record wait

Erasmus' agony in getting off the mark would extend further. By the time he swept Zampa for a single he had faced 17 balls, and managed a wry smile as his score finally ticked over. Where ball-by-ball data is available, it set a new record in getting off the mark in men's T20Is.
To his immense credit, he turned his fortunes around. The next ball Erasmus faced, he crunched Cummins through the off side then with Namibia, all-but finished, took eight runs off Hazlewood's last over. Two more boundaries followed off Ellis before the best of the lot, an immense pull against Cummins landing on the terraces. When he was well caught by Maxwell attempting a repeat, he had turned 0 off 16 into 36 off 43.

Zampa's century

This wasn't a defining spell of Zampa's career, but it was another full of class in what is becoming an outstanding tournament for him. When he cleaned up Bernard Scholtz with a lovely googly he brought up 100 T20I wickets, the first Australia men's player to the landmark and following Ellyse Perry and Megan Schutt. Half the runs he conceded - in a spell that included 17 dots - came when Rubel Trumpelmann put away a full toss over deep midwicket but he fell next ball when he picked out Maxwell on the boundary.

Australia in a rush

Travis Head could have been run out to the first ball of Australia's chase as David Warner scampered to get off the mark. Warner then flayed 20 off eight balls, including four, four, and six against David Wiese before skying to mid-off. Head opened his shoulders against Ben Shikongo then took three consecutive boundaries of Trumpelmann. Marsh finished the game before the fielding restrictions were done as he took 14 off three balls from Jack Brassell and, as captain, could reflect on a job done perfectly.

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

Language
English
Win Probability
AUS 100%
NAMAUS
100%50%100%NAM InningsAUS Innings

Over 6 • AUS 74/1

Australia won by 9 wickets (with 86 balls remaining)
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ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Group A
TEAMMWLPTNRR
IND22041.455
USA22040.626
PAK31220.191
CAN3122-0.493
IRE2020-1.712
Group B
TEAMMWLPTNRR
AUS33063.580
SCOT32052.164
NAM3122-2.098
ENG2011-1.800
OMA3030-1.613
Group C
TEAMMWLPTNRR
AFG22045.225
WI22043.574
UGA3122-4.217
PNG2020-0.434
NZ1010-4.200
Group D
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SA33060.603
BAN21120.075
NED21120.024
NEP2011-0.539
SL3021-0.777
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