Cricket news round-up – 16 June: Australia ease past Sri Lanka; South Africa open wins tally

Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs at The Oval; South Africa open their account at the World Cup with a nine-wicket win over Afghanistan; Carlos Brathwaite reprimanded by ICC; and Mushfiqur Rahim gets an injury scare in the nets.

Australia beat Sri Lanka

At The Oval, Aaron Finch’s 153 powered Australia to 334/7 after they were put in to bat by Sri Lanka in Match No. 20 of the World Cup. Finch was well-supported by Steve Smith (73 off 59 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (46* off 25) as Australia asked Sri Lanka to chase a total never chased in World Cup history.

For the first half of their innings, Sri Lanka looked to be well on their way to hunting down the target as openers Dimuth Karunaratne (97) and Kusal Perera (52) added 115 for the first wicket in under 16 overs. Sri Lanka were comfortably placed at 186/2 but Karunaratne’s wicket opened a door for Australia and the men from Down Under barged through, running through the Sri Lankan middle order and dismissing them for 247.

Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, picking up 4/55 from 10 overs. Kane Richardson returned 3/47 and Pat Cummins got 2/38.

South Africa register first win

After not winning anything in the first week of the tournament and losing three matches in a row, South Africa finally have a win against their name as they beat Afghanistan by 9 wickets in a rain-affected match in Cardiff that was reduced to 48 overs per side.

Imran Tahir’s 4/29 and Chris Morris’ 3/13 helped South Africa bundle out their opponents for a paltry 125. Quinton de Kock (68) and Hashim Amla (41*) then got South Africa past the target of 127 runs (DLS method) in just 28.4 overs.

Carlos Brathwaite reprimanded for dissent

Carlos Brathwaite of the West Indies has been reprimanded for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during the game against England at Rose Bowl. Brathwaite received a reprimand and one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

The incident occurred in the 43rd over when he expressed displeasure after being given out caught behind off the bowling of Jofra Archer. He accepted the sanction imposed by match referee David Boon and there was no need for a formal hearing.

Injury scare for Mushfiqur Rahim

Bangladesh received an injury scare when wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim left the nets midway after being struck by a ball from Mustafizur Rahman. Rahim walked off immediately after copping the blow, accompanied by the team physio, and did not return to the nets thereafter.

“The injury does not look serious but he will be under observation for 12 hours and later we will decide the next course of action,” a BCB spokesperson said. “We can tell about its gravity only after the icing is completed because it will help us to assess his condition only after the icing is completed.”

Bangladesh play their next game against the West Indies in Taunton on Monday, June 17.