Finch, Starc on fire as Australia topple Ireland

Australia live to fight another day in the 2022 T20 World Cup as the hosts destroyed Ireland in their Group 1 encounter in Brisbane to keep their semi-final qualification hopes alive. Aaron Finch led from the front with a fine half-century that took Australia to 179 for five before an excellent new ball spell from Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc skittled Ireland in the powerplay, setting up a straightforward 42-run win for the hosts.

Having been put into bat by Andrew Balbirnie, Australia got off to a slow start to their innings as David Warner fell in the third over, pulling Barry McCarthy to the man at deep square leg. The hosts managed just 20 runs from the first four overs of the powerplay, but Aaron Finch eventually got going with a couple of boundaries against Mark Adair in the fifth over. Mitchell Marsh continued this momentum in the seventh with a pair of sixes off Fionn Hand but the number three was undone by Barry McCarthy, edging behind to Lorcan Tucker while trying to play the cut shot.

Ireland kept a lid on the scoring rate through the middle period and also took the wicket of Glenn Maxwell, but the momentum of the innings changed in the 15th over, with Mark Adair conceding 26 runs. The pacer bowled five wide deliveries and conceded three fours and a six as Aaron Finch brought up his half-century. Finch finished with a timely 63 off 44 and was aided by important cameos from Marcus Stoinis (35 off 25) and Tim David (15 off 10), as Australia finished their 20 overs with 179 on the board.

In reply, the Irish openers hit a six each to begin the run chase, but the wheels quickly came off with Pat Cummins castling Andrew Balbirnie in the second over. Glenn Maxwell picked up a couple of cheap wickets in the third before Mitchell Starc burst through the defences of Curtis Campher and George Dockrell with some venomous swing and pace, leaving Ireland reeling at 25 for five.

The game was all but over after that initial carnage, but Lorcan Tucker played an incredible hand to ensure Australia do not get too much of a net-run-rate boost. The number three finished with an impressive 71* off 48 deliveries as Ireland fought their way to 137-all-out to limit the margin of victory to just 42 runs.

This result leaves Australia in second place in Group 1 with five points on the board. However, England have a game in hand over the defending champions and a marginally better net-run-rate. If Jos Buttler’s side win both their remaining games against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the hosts will have to beat Afghanistan in their final Super 12 fixture by a substantial margin to have any hopes of making it to the final four in the tournament.