Photo Credit: ICC
West Indies and Australia warmed up for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by serving up a run fest in Port of Spain.
Nicholas Pooran’s 25-ball 75 headlined the Windies’ 257 for four, with captain Rovman Powell also making a rapid half century.
Josh Inglis’ 55 gave nine-man Australia hope but their reply faded and the hosts ran out winners by 35 runs.
Elsewhere, Namibia narrowly beat Papua New Guinea in a rain-affected match while the weather also led to three no results.
Pooran punishes depleted Australia
West Indies wicketkeeper Pooran was in ruthless form from the outset in Trinidad, smashing eight sixes in his blistering knock after the early dismissal of Shai Hope.
He reached his half-century from just 16 deliveries and received equally hard-hitting support from Powell and Sherfane Rutherford.
The pair hit four fours and four sixes apiece, the skipper making 52 from 25 balls and Rutherford 47 from 18 as Australia, for whom Adam Zampa took two wickets, were set 258 to win.
Ashton Agar showed his intent at the top of the order with 28 off 13 and Inglis picked up the charge, passing 50 in 26 balls.
But he and Matthew Wade (25) fell in consecutive balls either side of the end of the 12th over to put a dampener on Australia’s hopes of completing the mammoth chase.
Nathan Ellis made 39 from 22 down the order but West Indies saw out the victory, left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie taking two for 31 from his four overs.
Namibia edge past PNG
Namibia won a rain-affected clash with Papua New Guinea by three runs (DLS) in Tarouba.
PNG batted first but lost wickets at regular intervals on their way to 109 for seven, with David Wiese (2/8) and Ruben Trumpelmann (2/15) particularly effective with the ball.
Bernard Scholtz claimed one for 11 from four miserly overs as several PNG batters made starts without kicking on. Sese Nau briefly threatened to break free, hitting two sixes in his 29 before being trapped lbw by Wiese.
Namibia slipped to eight for three in reply, Alei Nao striking twice early, but Jan Frylinck (36) and Jean-Pierre Kotze (30) steadied the ship with a fourth-wicket stand of 71.
They were each dismissed but Namibia were three runs clear of the DRS target when weather intervened with 3.1 overs of their innings remaining.
Both sides open their campaigns on Sunday, with PNG facing co-hosts West Indies and Namibia taking on Oman.
Rain frustrates Scotland chase
Scotland flew out the traps in their run chase against Uganda before rain halted proceedings in Tarouba.
Uganda batted first and reached 90 for five in their shortened innings of 18 overs, Riazat Ali Shah top scoring with 22.
Simon Ssesazi (16) and Dinesh Nakrani (15) also chipped in while there were two wickets apiece for Scotland bowlers Safyaan Sharif and Jack Jarvis.
Ollie Hairs raced to 20 not out in reply and Scotland were well placed on 27 without loss from 1.5 overs when the rain came, wiping out the remainder of the contest.
Scotland face Afghanistan in their final warm-up match on Friday before starting their competition against reigning champions England on June 4.
Uganda open their historic first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign against Afghanistan on June 3.
Scores in brief
Australia v West Indies – Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad
West Indies 257/4 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 75, Rovman Powell 52; Adam Zampa 2/62); Australia 222/7 (Josh Inglis 55; Gudakesh Motie 2/31)
Result: West Indies win by 35 runs
Scotland v Uganda – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba
Uganda 90/5 in 18 overs (Riazat Ali Shah 22; Safyaan Sharif 2/16); Scotland 27/0 in 1.5 overs.
Result: Match abandoned
Nepal v USA – Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas
Result: Match abandoned
Namibia v Papua New Guinea – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba
Papua New Guinea 109/7 in 20 overs (Sese Bau 29; David Wiese 2/8); Namibia 93/6 in 16.5 overs (Jan Frylinck 36; Alei Nao 2/9)
Result: Namibia win by three runs (DLS)
Netherlands v Canada – Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas
Result: Match abandoned
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
