Ellis, Zampa lead Australia to big win against Ireland

Without their captain, and down to 12 available players, Australia overcame what could have been an awkward start to their T20 World Cup campaign with an impressive all-round display as they downed Ireland by 67 runs in Colombo in a performance that showed their batting is not all about blasting sixes.

It was a dramatic build-up to the game for Australia - the last team to start the tournament - when it was announced 15 minutes before the toss that captain Mitchell Marsh was unavailable due to a testicular injury caused when he was struck in the groin while batting earlier in the week.

Travis Head, therefore, captained Australia and because of the decision to give Tim David an extra couple of days in his recovery from a hamstring injury, and no replacement for Josh Hazlewood having yet been named, it did not leave much for the selectors to choose from.

When Head was run out in the second over there was a chance it could have become a very tricky outing, but a stand of 49 between Josh Inglis and Cameron Green settled things then Matt Renshaw, who was a late addition to the squad, and Marcus Stoinis played excellently in a partnership of 61 off 44 balls to build a total of 182 on a tough, slow, gripping surface.

It was well out of reach for Ireland, who had hoped some familiarity with conditions may help after facing Sri Lanka at the same ground, but they folded for 115. They suffered a huge blow when Paul Stirling retired hurt first ball after hobbling through for a single and the top order was picked apart by Nathan Ellis.

Head was given a life in the first over when he cut Matthew Humphreys to backward point where Ben Calitz put down a low chance. Ireland had dropped seven chances against Sri Lanka and it was an ominous start. However, this one did not cost them as a horrid mix-up led to Head being run out. It added to a sense of unease around Australia, but that didn't last for long.

Inglis and Green took the attack during the fielding restrictions and Australia were quickly scoring above ten an over. The duo struck a six apiece in the fifth over against Mark Adair - although Inglis' was nearly a parried boundary catch by Gareth Delany who had just touched the rope with his foot - before Green picked out midwicket.

Inglis followed the over after the powerplay, driving George Dockrell to cover, but the early flurry of boundaries had earnt Australia the ability not to have to force things too hard. Still, with Glenn Maxwell's lean run continuing when as he edged Harry Tector behind - Lorcan Tucker taking a sharp catch - Australia were 88 for 4 in the tenth over and, with an out-of-form Cooper Connolly then the bowlers to come, a vital stand loomed.

Renshaw's elevation to the squad in place of Matt Short had been with these exact conditions in mind. He and Stoinis, not a batter often associated with working the ball around, quickly assessed it was not a surface on which to blast the side out of a tricky situation. They tried to keep dot balls to a minimum and ran hard: Australia tallied 22 twos for the innings.

Renshaw waited 28 balls to find the boundary when he drove Dockrell through the covers. Stoinis had found the rope twice in three balls against Tector in the 12th over, but they were a rare breed. It wasn't until the 18th over, when pace was back in the attack, that the ball cleared the rope again when Stoinis launched Adair over deep midwicket. Three balls earlier, Stoinis had been dropped by Delany in the covers. Adair did remove Stoinis with a low full toss, but Australia were able to cross 180.

Ireland needed to replicate Australia's powerplay burst but instead had to watch their captain limp back to the dugout after the first ball of the innings. He jabbed a full delivery from Xavier Bartlett to the on side and a couple of steps after setting off was in clear pain, barely able to make it to the other end. Ross Adair was dropped by Renshaw, a simple chance at point, in the second over, but Harry Tector lofted Matt Kuhnemann into the deep where the catch was safely held by Green.

Then Ellis, who is the senior member of Australia's remaining pace attack, showed his bag of tricks. His first delivery was a back-of-the-hand slower ball which completely bamboozled Ross Adair who played all round it and lost middle stump. It was pace-bowling deception at its best.

Two balls later, Curtis Campher pulled to midwicket and the wheels were coming off. At the start of Ellis' next over, Calitz dragged into leg stump and inside the powerplay his figures red 2-1-5-3. Adam Zampa then did his job, working through the middle and lower order with four wickets, but fittingly it was Ellis who ended the match to finish with a career-best haul.