With Mitchell Marsh absent, Travis Head is captaining Australia, and he will have been pleased with the 67-run win over Ireland, a strong reply to the heavy defeat in Pakistan a couple of weeks earlier. The batting had some shaky moments. Head missed out, Josh Inglis impressed, and the middle order lost several wickets in quick succession, so Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw and Glenn Maxwell are expected to contribute more. Marcus Stoinis made 45 off 29 and will again be asked to finish, with Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett.
Xavier Bartlett and Matthew Kuhnemann had a tough outing with the ball, while Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa each took four wickets and will aim to control the middle overs.
Zimbabwe, led by Sikandar Raza, began with a convincing eight-wicket win over Oman. Brian Bennett’s 48 off 36 provided the base, and he will open with Tadiwanashe Marumani. Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor and Raza must deliver in the middle order, with Ryan Burl and Tashinga Musekiwa finishing. Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani shared six wickets against Oman and will need early breakthroughs against Australia’s powerful lineup.
