Chronicle Editor
DAVID WARNER led holders Australia to a routine seven-wicket win against Afghanistan with an unbeaten 89 at the start of their World Cup defence.
Chasing a below-par 208, Warner steered his side to victory with 91 balls to spare after captain Aaron Finch helped set the tone with 66 off 49.
Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa took three wickets apiece as Afghanistan were bowled out for just 207.
Najibullah Zadran (51) impressed, however, with some powerful strokeplay.
Australia, who came into this tournament in resurgent form with overseas series victories against India and Pakistan, have now won nine one-day internationals in a row.
The last time that happened was during their victorious 2015 World Cup campaign; a run which began with a 275-run win against Afghanistan.
The five-time World Cup winners will take that form into their next game against West Indies on Thursday at Trent Bridge, while Afghanistan take on Sri Lanka in Cardiff tomorrow.
Afghanistan, winners of last year’s qualifier and in just their second World Cup appearance, were roared on by enthusiastic and colourful support all around the ground with many neutrals also siding with the relative minnows.
But any hopes of an upset were dashed by a stuttering display with the bat before some sloppy fielding and erratic bowling.
Another sub-plot was the long-awaited returns to competitive Australia action for Warner and Steve Smith – the pair having served their respective bans for their roles in the sandpaper scandal of March 2018.
Smith received a hostile reception from the crowd during his century against England in the World Cup warm-up match in Southampton last Saturday and that theme continued, if less pointedly, when he came out to bat alongside Warner in the closing stages.
Two rather inventive spectators did catch the eye in the crowd with full-body suits fashioned to look like pieces of sandpaper.
Coach Justin Langer’s call before the game for crowds to show the pair “respect” during this summer does not appear to have registered quite yet.
Smith played his part in the field initially; taking a smart catch at cover to dismiss Rahmat Shah off Zampa and manufacturing the run out of Mohammad Nabi.
He fell just before the conclusion for a sedate 18 off 27 balls and the tempo of that innings was largely matched by Warner.
The left-handed opener made somewhat serene progress as Australia were always in command of the run-chase and was happy to play second fiddle to Finch’s power hitting in an opening partnership worth 96.
While the batting looked to be firing for the holders, there would have been some things for captain Finch and coach Langer to mull over in terms of the balance of their bowling attack.
While leg-spinner Zampa’s 3-60 off eight overs may look good on paper, it was littered with some loose and erratic deliveries.
He went for 22 in one over while all-rounder Marcus Stoinis also came in for some punishment, conceding 21 to Rashid’s long-range hitting.
The frontline seamers of Starc, Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile were more potent as they chose to bowl short more often than not – potentially taking inspiration from some of the dominant spells of fast bowling seen already in this tournament.
But the absence of spinner Nathan Lyon from their line-up, as well as Finch opting not to use Glenn Maxwell’s off-spin, drew some bemusement from members of the Australian media. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter