Australia v Netherlands, Match 5, ICC Men's World Cup Warm-Up: Starc fires in rain-hit encounter

Rain again played spoilsport in the warm-up matches in the lead-up to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

Australia and Netherlands played out a rain-affected encounter at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. After persistent rain play finally started with the match being reduced to a 23 overs a side contest.

Australia after opting to bat posted 166 for seven in their 23 overs and in response Netherlands were at 84 for six after 14.2 overs when rain stopped play.

Earlier, Australia's innings was helped by Steven Smith's 55 off 42 balls with four boundaries and three sixes. Smith put on 57 runs for the second wicket with Alex Carey. Later handy knocks by Cameron Green (34) and Mitchell Starc (24 n.o.) swelled Australia's score to 166 for seven in their 23 overs. For Netherlands the best bowlers were Logan van Beek (2-35), Roelof van der Merwe (2-12) and Bas de Leede (2-25).

In their response Netherlands were reduced to 15 for four. The top-order was ripped out by Starc. The left-arm fast bowler claimed a hat-trick as he dismissed the first three batters including Max O'Dowd, Wesley Barresi and de Leede. Then there was a 31 run stand for the fifth wicket between Sybrand Engelbrecht and skipper Scott Edwards. Colin Ackermann top-scored with an unbeaten 31 off 37 balls with three boundaries. Play ended with the score at 84 for six in 14.2 overs as heavy rains interrupted play. For Australia the best bowler was Starc (3-18).

Sunday is a break in the tournament, the warm-up matches will resume on Monday. 

Match Summary
Australia: 166-7 (23)
Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Josh Inglis-1.3 ov), 2-59 (Alex Carey-8.1 ov), 3-66 (Glenn Maxwell-9.4 ov), 4-101 (Steven Smith-14.4 ov), 5-137 (Cameron Green-18.5 ov), 6-138 (Pat Cummins-19.1 ov), 7-152 (Matthew Short-21.1 ov)

Netherlands: 84-6 (14.2)
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Max O'Dowd-0.5 ov), 2-5 (Wesley Barresi-0.6 ov), 3-12 (Bas de Leede-2.1 ov), 4-15 (Vikramjit Singh-3.5 ov), 5-46 (Sybrand Engelbrecht-8.5 ov), 6-65 (Scott Edwards-11.3 ov)

SCORECARD   

Playing XI
Australia: Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Alex Carey, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa

Netherlands: Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Alex Carey, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa

Match Details
Toss: Australia, elected to bat
Venue: Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Start time: 0830 hrs
Match officials: Rohan Pandit, Virender Sharma (On-field Umpires); Anil Chaudhary (TV Umpire)

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