David Warner starred in his landmark outing as Australia came on top in a run-scoring fest against West Indies in the first T20I of the series at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Friday, winning by just 11 runs. Warner smashed a half-century in his 100th T20I appearance, scripting an ultra-rare world record, before leg-spinner Adam Zampa picked three wickets as Australia held off a brilliant chase from a full-strength West Indies side to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Warner became the third Australian player to appear in 100 T20I matches after Aaron Finch (103) and Glenn Maxwell (101) and 24th overall, and the third player in history to feature in 100 or more matches in each of the international formats after Virat Kohli and former New Zealand cricketer Ross Taylor.
Having recently retired from Test cricket, the 37-year-old, who was playing his first white-ball game in West Indies’ tour of Australia, further consolidated his spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup squad as he smashed a 36-ball 70 as the hosts amassed 213 for seven.
It was Warner’s 26th half-century-plus score in T20I cricket, the most-ever by an Australian batter and fourth overall. With the knock, he became the first batsman in the world to have scored fifty or more in each of his landmark international appearances. He had notched up a double ton in his 200th Test for Australia and scored a century against India in his 100th ODI.
After being sent in, Australia openers – Warner and Josh Inglis – stitched a 93-run stand despite the latter struggling to find a rhythm. Having failed to make early inroads with the new ball, Windies eventually got success with slower deliveries, which accounted for several wickets as the big hitters looked to clear the ground.
The visiting openers got the chase off to a stellar start with an 89-run stand before Zampa struck twice in successive overs, before sending back Andre Russell for just one run, as Australia restricted West Indies for 202 runs.
Warner was named as the Player of the Match for his rampaging knock as became the first player in history to have won the award in each of his milestone games – 100th Test and ODI.
“Pleasing to get the win on the board. It was a nice wicket to bat on and you have to make the most of those. I feel great and refreshed, I’m pumped. I want to play the T20 World Cup and it’s a good journey we’ve got going for the next 6 months. Pretty much the same squad going to New Zealand so it’s important we win there as well,” he said in the post-match presentation.
