Colombo: Shane Watson pounded Ireland with both bat and ball as Australia began their World Twenty20 campaign with an emphatic seven-wicket victory in Colombo on Wednesday.
Watson grabbed three wickets as Ireland were restricted to 123-7 and then smashed 51 off 30 balls to help Australia surpass the modest total in the 16th over of the group B match.
The New South Wales all-rounder put on 60 for the first wicket with David Warner (26) in seven overs, and 31 off 18 balls for the second with Michael Hussey, before he was run out in the 11th over.
Watson, who hit five boundaries and three sixes and claimed a wicket with his first delivery, was named the man of the match.
“We knew how important the game was to make a statement,” he said. “I had been thinking about how to bowl the first over for about a day and it worked out nicely.”
Barely 3,000 spectators were present at the 35,000-capacity Premadasa stadium to watch Australia teach the non-Test nation a cricketing lesson in the first ever T20 clash between the two sides.
Australia, who lost to England in the final of the 2010 World T20 in the Caribbean, had briefly slipped below Ireland in the T20 rankings earlier this month.
The slump started with the first ball of the innings, which skipper William Porterfield hooked down fine-leg’s throat to the great delight of bowler Watson.
“We did not have a great start; we tried to get a platform but that did not happen,” said Porterfield. “I can’t fault the lads because they tried their best.”
Ireland’s decline continued as in-form batsman Paul Stirling was caught at third man off Mitchell Starc and Ed Joyce holed out to mid-off against Glenn Maxwell after making 16.
Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg, the oldest player in the tournament at 41, struck with his second delivery when he trapped Gary Wilson leg-before for five.
Kevin O’Brien top-scored with 35, adding 52 for the fifth wicket with elder brother Niall (20) after Ireland had slipped to 33-4 by the eighth over.
The O’Brien brothers were dismissed in the space of four balls from Watson.
Australia play the West Indies in their final group game in Colombo on Saturday. Ireland take on the West Indies on Monday.
Two teams from the group will advance to the Super Eights round.
Updated at: 25 May 2013
Liverpool manager’s son found not guilty LONDON: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers voiced his family’s relief after his footballer son Anton was cleared Friday in a sex case at England’s central criminal court.
Anton Rodgers, 20, and three Brighton team-mates were found not guilty of sexual assault and voyeurism.
The retrial, at the Old Bailey in London, followed an earlier trial in which a jury could not agree verdicts.
Brendan Rodgers said: “The last 18 months have been extremely traumatic for us as a family, but we are ...
Updated at: 25 May 2013
Space trip with DiCaprio costs $1.55m CANNES - Leonardo DiCaprio is going to get closer to stars of a different kind as he heads into space aboard the Virgin Galactic, and a well-heeled bidder at the Cannes Film Festival has paid 1.2 million euros (1.5 million) to be his travel buddy.
The Holywood star’s sub-orbital trip was among 20 goodies up for grabs at the 20th amfAR bash, a gala auction that is one of the glitziest festival events and that this year helped raise a record-breaking $25 million for AIDS research.
Other ...
affiliate marketing
PIA plane lands at Manchester airport, probe continues LONDON: A Pakistan International Airline (PIA) passenger plane, which was forced to land at a London airport after two travelers threatened to ‘explode the plane’ during their argument, has now arrived at Manchester.
According to the sources, British police arrested two people on suspicion of ...
Deal with IMF now will be self-defeating: Sartaj LAHORE : Pakistan’s new leadership expects first results of its planned steps to shore up its finances and ease a power crisis in two or three months and only then should decide whether and on what terms to seek an IMF bailout, a senior policy adviser said on Friday.
Most economists, lenders and ...
Altaf says he never preached misuse of authority KARACHI: Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain said on Friday that he had never preached corruption, fraud, cheating, overstepping and misuse of authority and indulging in social evils to his workers.
"I have been asking his workers to refrain from these evils since 1978, Altaf said ...
Peshawar: 7 policemen dead in rocket assault PESHAWAR: At least seven policemen were killed while seven more policeman including District Police Officer (DPO) Kohat were critically injured in a rocket attack here on Friday night.
According to the sources, the incident took place when 10 to 15 militants attacked a convoy of DPO Kohat ...
Dark ages: The heat is on, the power is off FAISALABAD / KARACHI / ISLAMABAD: It’s the perfect storm, Pakistan style. This Friday was the hottest day Lahore has suffered in the last 29 years, with the temperature shooting up as high as 47 degrees centigrade, a record according to the Pakistan Metrological Department. And on this sweltering ...