Starc hat-trick demolishes Dutch but rain has final say

Mitchell Starc took a hat-trick and Steve Smith hit a half-century as Australia flexed their muscle against the Netherlands in their World Cup warm-up fixture in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

Mitch Marsh (1-24) also made a successful return to bowling for the first time since the Ashes and claimed a wicket with the new ball to underline his importance to Australia's title chances.

But it was Starc (3-18) who blew apart the Dutch top order after Pat Cummins elected to bat first and Australia posted a modest 7-166 in the reduced 23 over-per-side contest.

The left-armer had the ball hooping under heavy overcast conditions under lights at Greenfield Stadium on the southwest coast of India with his pace and movement too hot for the Netherlands batters to handle.

Starc removed Max O'Dowd and Wesley Barresi with the last two deliveries of his first over before claiming Bas de Leede with the first ball of his second to complete the hat-trick, with each of the Dutch trio perishing for a golden duck.

Marsh, who was rested from bowling throughout the tour of South Africa and ODI series against India in the lead up to the 50-over tournament, made it 4-15 within the first four overs with the wicket of Vikram Singh (9).

"The boys have been getting stuck into me that I haven't bowled for the last 11 games so it's nice to get them off my back," Marsh said after the match was abandoned.

"I love bowling, I love contributing with the ball, I'll hopefully find a bit of rhythm over the next couple of games and work together with 'Stoin' (Marcus Stoinis) and 'Maxi' (Glenn Maxwell)."

Only Colin Ackerman (31no) provided any resistance for the Dutch before a heavy downpour after 14.2 overs finally put an end to proceedings with the score 6-84.

Along with Sri Lanka, the Netherlands earned their spot at the tournament through finishing as the top two nations at July's qualifying event Zimbabwe.

Steve Smith opened and top scored for Australia with 55 from 42 balls when play finally got underway at 7pm local time following a five-hour rain delay.

David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood sat out the match from Australia's squad of 14 currently in India, with reserves Matt Short and Tanveer Sangha taking part in the hit-out.

Starc (24no) batted at No.6, highlighting the casual nature of the pre-tournament clash where both sides listed 12 players on their team sheet.

Cameron Green got some valuable time in the middle, hitting a glorious lofted drive over wide long off into the stands on his way to 34 from 26.

Alex Carey (28) was the only other batter to make it to double figures as wickets few at regular intervals. Josh Inglis (0) missed out in his opportunity to open alongside Smith, with none of Glenn Maxwell (5), Cummins (1) and Short (5) able to get going.

Australia now travel to Hyderabad where they face Pakistan on Tuesday in their final hit-out before their World Cup opener against hosts India on October 8 in Chennai.

Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures

Warm-up match: No result v Netherlands

Warm-up match: October 3: v Pakistan, Hyderabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 8: v India, Chennai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 12: v South Africa, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 16: v Sri Lanka, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 20: v Pakistan, Bengaluru (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 25: v Netherlands, Delhi (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 28: v New Zealand, Dharamsala, 4pm AEDT

November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT

November 15: First semi-final, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 16: Second semi-final, Kolkata (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 19: Final, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa