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3rd over: Afghanistan 10-2 (Rahmat 4, Shahidi 5)
Starc gets six balls at Shahidi. The first is cracked through the covers for four, before the left arm quick comes back with a bumper. The next just falls short of second slip, then there’s a wide, before Starc cranks it up to 150kph. The whole thing is very Mitchell Starc.
2nd over: Afghanistan 6-2 (Rahmat 4, Shahidi 1)
It’s Cummins from the other end - and it’s a no-ball first up! Replays show it was exceptionally close, but it’s registered. The free hit is spliced high and taken by Coulter-Nile, before Cummins inflicts meaningful damage via an Hazratullah edge to Carey. The bowling looks that smidgen too quick for the Afghani’s here - at least early on. It will settle to some extent, I’m sure.
Edged, taken. Cummins in the book with his second legal delivery. Hazratullah joins Shahzad with a globe. Afghanistan 10-2. #CWC19pic.twitter.com/lNv2uXPj0F
Cummins gives Hazratullah some width and the batsman obliges only in offering a big feet-less swipe, gaining a healthy edge that’s taken at head height by Carey.
1st over: Afghanistan 3-1 (Rahmat 3, Hazratullah 0)
Starc takes the first ball; can he elicit any swing? The first two not so much. The third, well, you can see the result below. Takeaways? Starc looks pretty quick - certainly too quick for Shahzad. A nice little whip for three followed, and that was all she wrote.
Bowled him! Classic Starc. Full. A little swing. 95+ mph, and stumps everywhere. Shades of McCullum in the 2015 final. One of the dirtiest swipes across the line you’ll see, too. Quick.
Anthems are done
What a stirring anthem the Afghanis have.
It’s Warner and Smith’s first official match back since the Sandpaper affair
My tip? Smith will gluttonously compensate for his time out. Think it’s a little more complicated for his compatriot.
One via email
A question from Abhijarto Sensarma:
Khawaja in/ 3 quicks and a spinner
So Khawaja beats Marsh to that final batting spot. Finch said: “Usman’s form over the last 14-15 games was too good to ignore. Really tough call but we had to make it.”
Teams
Afghanistan XI: Shahzad (wk), Zazai, Shah, Shahidi, N. Zadran, Nabi, Naib (c), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb, Hassan, D. Zadran #CWC19#AUSvAFG
Australia XI: Finch (c), Warner, Khawaja, Smith, Maxwell, Stoinis, Carey (wk), Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Starc, Zampa. #CWC19#AUSvAFG
Afghanistan have won the toss and have elected to bat
It’s Sanjay Manjrekar, both captains, match referee Ranjan Madugalle and a coin. Naib flips, Finch says tails, it lands heads.
No news yet on Khawaja or Marsh
Lots of conjecture about this one in Australia. Easy to forget that there’s ten games, and this author can easily see all 15 players being afforded an opportunity. Both players really are very similar in terms of what they offer with the bat: control, rotation of the strike, decent averages. Both are at similar ends of Australia’s fielding bell curve too. Will be interesting to see which way it goes, but only insofar as understanding who has the inside running at this point.
Let’s start big, and narrow in
There’s been so much talk about where cricket sits in the English sporting ecosystem of late. I found yesterday’s Guardian editorial interesting on the topic; it can be easy to get mired in the x’s and o’s of broadcast money, the influence of digital, and so forth - and similarly easy to forget those that get out there and play. Here’s the piece for your perusal:
Related: The Guardian view on cricket: play the game | Editorial
Hello and welcome...
To The Guardian’s second piece of World Cup cricketing livebloggery today. Whether the body clock is telling you to discard this match for sweet, sweet sleep in Australia, whether you’re crowded around a TV in Kabul, or whether you’re nervously passing the time before Liverpool v Tottenham in Madrid tonight - it doesn’t matter. You are here, and for one reason or another free, willing and keen to understand the ins, outs, ups, downs and associated carry-on ahead of “ODI 4 of 48” (the Google convention): Australia v Afghanistan, from Bristol
Bristol, we’re ready! Safe to say the Aussies are more than ready for this clash. All I’m missing is my fave Aussie @melindafarrell ! vs #CWC19#AUSvAFGpic.twitter.com/VtOGIFUwo4
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