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Undermanned Australia get campaign going against dangerous Ireland

Published

1 month ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

Paul Stirling has not been in good touch of late [Cricket Ireland]

Australia are the last side to begin their T20 World Cup campaign and the late start plays heavily into their favour, given the injury issues they have had coming into the tournament.

They are already without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood after both were ruled out with injury, and Australia’s selectors have intriguingly not yet replaced Hazlewood in the 15 and will only have 13 to choose from for their opening match against Ireland with Tim David expected to miss the opening round as he continues to rehab his hamstring injury.

Had the first match been any earlier, there may have also been doubts on Nathan Ellis coming off a hamstring concern and Adam Zampa, who experienced some groin tightness in the last T20I of the tour of Pakistan a fortnight ago, which Australia lost 3-0.

Australia are also struggling for form, having been hammered in Pakistan despite many of them coming from the BBL. However Ellis, David and Glenn Maxwell were all absent from that trip while many of the World Cup squad only played one or two games in the series at most. The change in conditions will challenge them, as will Ireland’s spinners George Dockerell and Gareth Delany after both bowled well against Sri Lanka.

Ireland themselves will feel under some pressure after butchering a chance to beat Sri Lanka in Colombo in their tournament opener. They dropped seven catches and gave up 59 runs from their final four overs with the ball. They were 105 for 2, albeit with the required run-rate climbing, but lost 8 for 38 to lose the game by 20 runs.

In theory, Ireland have the advantage of being a slightly unknown quantity to Australia. The two teams have only met twice in T20Is and only once in all international cricket since 2016. They played at the Gabba in the 2022 T20 World Cup and eight of the Ireland XI that played against Sri Lanka played in that game too. However, Australia may only have four players in their XI who played four years ago, with a number of retirements and injuries changing the formation of Australia’s team.

The only other time the two teams met in the shortest format was in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Colombo. Paul Stirling, Dockrell and Maxwell all played in that game.

Can Glenn Maxwell go to the well one more time to produce a stunning World Cup for his nation? Given he turns 38 this year, it seems unlikely that he will play another one for Australia, having already retired from ODI cricket. But since a match-winning 62 not out against South Africa last August, he has had a very lean run in all T20s. In eight innings in the BBL when he got past 3 he remained unbeaten, but that only happened three times with a highest score of 39 not out. His bowling will also be vital in the tournament as he will likely be the lone spinning allrounder in the top seven for most of the event.

Ireland need skipper Paul Stirling to set the tone at the top of the order, particularly against an inexperienced new-ball attack for Australia. His returns have also been lean in recent times with scores of 21, 29, 38, 0, 23, 45, 8, 14, and 6 in his last nine T20Is, striking at just 125.17. His 6 off 13 against Sri Lanka was not the start to the tournament he or Ireland were hoping for.

Australia appear set to play two specialist spinners in Matt Kuhnemann and Zampa. It will mean one of Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis will miss out. There is another option Australia could take with Cooper Connolly playing at No. 8 to lengthen the batting, but that appears unlikely based on form. David’s absence will likely give Matt Renshaw a chance in the middle order. The combination of the top seven is likely to be fluid with the potential of elevating Maxwell early against spin.

Australia (probable): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett/Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa

There could be a temptation to bring in left-arm seamer Josh Little, who bowled very well against Australia four years ago, but he has gone wicketless in his last four T20Is. Ireland will more than likely remain unchanged given catching was the major issue against Sri Lanka.

Ireland (probable): Paul Stirling (capt), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Ben Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys

[Cricinfo]

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Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal

Published

17 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

Salman Agha reacted furiously after his controversial dismissal [BBC]

Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.

Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.

Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.

“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”

Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.

“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”

Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”

He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.

“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.

Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.

[Cricinfo]

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US embassy in Baghdad hit by strike as Trump says military targets ‘obliterated’ on Iran’s key oil island

Published

18 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, has been hit by a missile – video shows fire and smoke rising in the aftermath.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says “every military target” on Iran’s key oil island has been “totally obliterated”, but there was no damage to oil infrastructure.

Kharg Island is a tiny but strategic terminal in the northern Gulf, 22 miles off the coast of Iran In response, Tehran warns oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms that co-operate with the US will be “turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s energy facilities are attacked

Elsewhere in the Middle East: Israel and Iran both warn of fresh attacks, and at least 12 medical staff have been killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon

Meanwhile, more US Marines and warships are expected to be deployed to the Middle East, two officials tell BBC’s partner CBS News

[BBC]

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Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be cancelled

Published

1 day ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were scheduled for next month (BBC)

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.

Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.

The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.

Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.

But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.

The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.

(BBC)