T20 World Cup: Australia thump Namibia to clinch Super Eight spot

Australia made sure there was no drama in their T20 World Cup group match against Namibia on Wednesday (AEST), thumping the associate nation to book a Super Eight spot.

Winning the toss, Australia opted to put their opponents in to bat.

It was tough going for the Namibians, with Adam Zampa terrorising their lineup as they fell for 74 all out. In response, the Aussies were ruthless, coming out of the blocks swinging and chasing down the target in less than six overs.

With a game in hand, Australia can now put their feet up and watch the rest of Group B battle it out for the remaining Super Eight places.

Zampa stars in Aussie rout of Namibia

Initially, it was Australia’s pace that troubled Namibia.

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood removed both openers within the first four overs, while Marcus Stoinis picked up first-drop Jan Frylinck quickly as well.

Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus offered the side’s only real resistance, making 36 from 43. At the other end, however, Zampa was having his way with Namibia’s middle and lower order.

First, the spinner trapped wicketkeeper Zane Green LBW for just one run. David Wiese and Ruben Trumpelmann soon followed caught, before Zampa added a cherry on top by clean bowling Bernard Scholtz for a duck.

The leggie finished on an impressive 4/12, setting up a comfortable chase for Australia after Namibia folded for 74 all out.

Warner, Head, Marsh in a hurry

Australia didn’t need to improve their run rate against Namibia, but they did.

David Warner came out like a man on a mission. While his stay at the crease only lasted eight balls, he knocked 20 runs off the target before being dismissed.

Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh finished what Warner started, with the pair adding 34 (17) and 18 (9) respectively. It wasn’t pretty watching from a Namibian perspective as their opponents raced along at over 13 runs an over, hauling in the target before the powerplay was through.

With three wins from three games, Australia are now assured of a spot in the Super Eight. As a result, online bookmakers have sharpened their odds of the men in yellow winning the tournament.

Australia are now paying $3.75 to lift their second T20 World Cup, behind only India ($2.87).

Is Australia’s success England’s demise?

With their future secure, Australia may well rest players heading into their final fixture against Scotland on Sunday (AEST).

This will be highly concerning for England. The two-time T20 World Cup champions shared the points with Scotland when their match was washed out, and they lost to Australia.

If Scotland manage to get passed an understrength Aussie side, that will mean England are eliminated from the T20 World Cup in the group stage.

The odds of England winning the tournament have taken a hit over the past 10 days. However, cricket bookies still have them on the fifth line of betting at $10, ahead of the likes of Afghanistan ($21), New Zealand ($29) and Pakistan ($34).

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