Stoinis stars as Australia romp to warm-up win

Marcus Stoinis has put his hand up for a return to Australia's one-day side with a fine all-round performance in their only warm-up match ahead of the five-match ODI series against India.

The hulking allrounder top-scored with 76 from just 60 balls batting at No.6 and then took 1-13 from four tight overs with the ball as Australia thumped a Board President's XI by 103 runs in Chennai.

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Stoinis hasn't played international cricket since his memorable series against New Zealand in February, which included an unbeaten 146 batting at No.7 in Auckland that, while in a losing cause, became an instant classic.

Having hammered a record 11 sixes at the tiny Eden Park on that occasion, Stoinis launched five over the rope on Tuesday at the more sizeable Chepauk Stadium as he and Matthew Wade (45 from 24 balls, including two fours and four sixes) added some late polish to Australia's total of 7-347.

David Warner (64 from 48 balls) and Steve Smith (55 from 68) had given Australia an ideal start after they elected to bat first, but it was the eye-catching performances of Stoinis and new No.4 Travis Head that would have pleased stand-in coach David Saker the most as the tourists look to re-jig their middle order following their win-less Champions Trophy campaign.

Head's elevation to No.4 today gave a strong indication that he's the frontrunner to take that role for the series against India, starting on Sunday, with the Aussies having struggled to fill the position since axing veteran George Bailey in January.

And the left-hander, who has found a home at No.5 and barely made a misstep since debuting in June last year, relished the extra responsibility and finished with 65 from 63 balls.

The wickets were shared in the run chase as Smith rotated his bowlers in order to get some useful match practice in ahead of the start of the series proper. Ashton Agar was the seventh of eight bowlers used and picked up four late wickets to push his case for a recall, while Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pat Cummins all kept things tight as the home side were bowled out for 244 in the 49th over.

Image Id: CEC8F992783A4FF1898C901926DC752F Image Caption: Ashton Agar picked up four wickets in Chennai // cricket.com.au

The final victory margin would have been much higher if not for an entertaining late cameo from No.9 Askay Karnewar, who took on spinners Agar and Adam Zampa and clobbered four sixes, including two into the stands from the same Zampa over.

The Australians were uncharacteristically sloppy in the field; Smith, Head, Zampa and Glenn Maxwell all put down straight-forward chances and although James Faulkner and Stoinis both took impressive one-handed grabs, dropping catches is a trend the tourists would be loathe to continue when they take on India's red-hot batting line-up over the coming weeks.

With Aaron Finch sitting out the match due to a minor calf problem, allrounder Hilton Cartwright opened alongside Warner but lasted just two deliveries, edging to slip before Australia had got off the mark.

But Warner, coming off back-to-back Test centuries in Bangladesh, switched seamlessly to one-day mode, finding the boundary 11 times as he and Smith added 106 for the second wicket.

The left-hander pounded the rope on all sides of the ground, including one powerful pull shot over mid-wicket, much to the delight of the hundreds of local fans who took advantage of the free entry and defied the blazing sun by packing into the terraced stand on the eastern side of the ground.

 

Smith hit four fours and a six in his innings before he was dismissed by impressive young spinner Washington Sundar, who the Australian captained this year at Indian Premier League side Rising Pune Supergiant.

Sundar also dismissed Maxwell - who received the biggest cheer of the day when he walked out to bat - for 14 but Head remained resolute, the left-hander hitting just four fours but bringing up his fifty at almost a run-a-ball.

It would be a source of great frustration, then, that the South Australian fell a short time later, caught at long-on attempting to launch ambidextrous spinner Karnewar over the rope for a second time.

Image Id: 319987A7733E4E59ACF99D0AE897E6F7 Image Caption: Steve Smith was one of four Aussies to score a half-century // cricket.com.au

But Stoinis and Wade - who both made off-season moves away from Victoria this year - powered the Australians past the 300 mark with a destructive counter-attacking partnership, the pair clearing the rope nine times between them.

The duo hammered 19 from one Avesh Khan over, included an audacious ramp over the wicketkeeper's head from Wade that clattered into the sightscreen on the full.

And based on today's performance, the former Bushrangers are favoured to hold down the No.6 and No.7 spots again when the serious cricket begins on Sunday.

Image Id: 4CA988A4BB85488BB7B6AFDBF26E5D54 Image Caption: Australia's innings in Chennai // cricket.com.au
Image Id: BCE32CB887BE4CA5B46AEEE980BB441D Image Caption: Board President's XI scorecard // cricket.com.au

Cricket.com.au will provide highlights, live updates and a full report from Australia's match against the President's XI on Tuesday

BOARD PRESIDENT'S XI V AUSTRALIA, ONE-DAY WARM-UP MATCH, CHENNAI

President's XI squad: Gurkeerat Mann (c), Rahul Tripathi, Mayank Agarwal, Shivam Chaudhary, Washington Sundar, Nitish Rana, Govind Poddar, Shreevats Gowsami, Rahil Shah, Ashkay Karnewar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kushang Patel, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch (injured), Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

Australia's Qantas Tour of India

Australia ODI squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

Australia T20 squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.

India squad (first three ODIs): Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

ODI Fixtures

September 17: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

September 21: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

September 24: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore

September 28: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

October 1: VCA Stadium, Nagpur

T20 Fixtures

October 1: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi

October 10: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati

October 13: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad