Gus Gould slams Aussie matchwinner’s ‘fashion statement’

He played through pain to save Australia’s World Cup, but Adam Zampa was on the receiving end of an unexpected bake from Gus Gould.

Adam Zampa of Australia celebrates the wicket of Sadeera Samarawickrama. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa played through pain to return figures of 4-47 and help Australia down Sri Lanka by five wickets for their first win at the 2023 Cricket World Cup on Monday.

Five-time winners Australia bundled out Sri Lanka for 209, a total they overhauled in 35.2 overs at a windswept Ekana Stadium.

Zampa was named man of the match in Australia’s first win in three matches, but the 31-year-old said it had been tough coming into the match.

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“To be honest, I wasn’t feeling great because I had a bit of a back spasm,” said Zampa.

“I was playing through it the last couple of days. Today I felt better, bowled better.”

But not everyone was happy with Zampa. Rugby league great Gus Gould took issue with the spinner’s eye wear in an unexpected attack on social media.

“Why do they allow bowlers to wear sunglasses? Really? Is that necessary? A fashion statement whilst playing International cricket? Did I miss a meeting?” Gould asked.

Former champions Sri Lanka slipped to a third loss in as many games. The drama on the field may have been limited but that was not the case in the stands.

After rain interrupted Sri Lanka’s batting, strong winds brought scaffolding and hoardings crashing down onto the seats below.

Adam Zampa of Australia celebrates the wicket of Sadeera Samarawickrama. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

With only around 3,000 people inside the 50,000-capacity ground, spectators managed to escape injury.

However, Australia’s reply was delayed when the umpires felt it unsafe to restart the match with high winds still a danger.

Once the game resumed, opener Mitchell Marsh smashed 52 and wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis made 58.

Marsh led the chase after Australia lost two early wickets of David Warner, for 11, and Steve Smith, for a duck, to slip to 24-2.

Marsh reached his first fifty in a World Cup off 39 balls but was soon run out after attempting a second run with Marnus Labuschagne, who hit 40.

Labuschagne and Inglis put on a key stand of 77 to deny the thin crowd of any late drama.

Left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka broke the partnership to send back Labuschagne for his third wicket and spinner Dunith Wellalage got Inglis.

Steve Smith leaves after his dismissal. Picture: Arun Sankar/AFP

But Glenn Maxwell, who hit a 21-ball 31, took the team home with Marcus Stoinis, who made 20, for company.

Pat Cummins was under attack for his captaincy in the opening two losses. “Outside noise doesn’t bother us too much,” said Cummins.

“All parts of the game came together at the end. We’re underway in the tournament and hope we keep it up.”

Madushanka had raised early hopes of a fightback for Sri Lanka after he trapped Warner and Smith — both lbw — in the same over.

The left-handed Warner reviewed his decision but the tracker showed the ball would have kissed leg stump and the batsman returned to the stands fuming.

Earlier Sri Lanka elected to bat first and started with a 125-run opening stand between Pathum Nissanka (61) and Kusal Perera (78) before the opposition bowlers hit back to end the innings in 43.3 overs.

Perera reached his fifty with a boundary off Stoinis amid applause from the dressing room and a few Sri Lankan fans.

Nissanka soon claimed his second successive half-century as Sri Lanka charged ahead.

Cummins dismissed Nissanka through a good outfield catch by Warner and then bowled Perera.

Zampa sent back skipper Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama on consecutive balls between overs to be on hat-trick avoided by Dhananjaya de Silva.

Rain interrupted play for about 25 minutes and the break only gave Australia more power to return with wickets as left-arm quick Mitchell Starc bowled De Silva.

Sri Lanka kept losing wickets and Zampa grabbed two more including Chamika Karunaratne, who was only called up to replace injured captain Dasun Shanaka at the weekend.

But Mendis remained confident of his batting line-up and said they “have six more matches to perform better”.

3.10am - Australia wins the match

Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis smashed half-centuries as Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets to register their first win of the 2023 World Cup on Monday.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa returned figures of 4-47 to help bowl out Sri Lanka for 209, a total the five-time winners overhauled in 35.2 overs at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium.

Australia registered their first win in three matches while former champions Sri Lanka slipped to a third loss in as many games.

1.35am - Marsh run out after brisk 50

There was a real contrast in styles between the two batsmen as Australia recovered from those two early wickets.

Marnus Labuschagne has made a calm 18 off 25 balls, striking at about 70. Meanwhile Mitch Marsh brought up a half-century at better than a run a ball, with 52 off 51.

It was all rather comfortably until one key error: Marsh decided to take on the arm of Dimuth Karunaratne in the deep, coming back for a second run that wasn’t there. The throw was brilliant, and it cost Marsh his wicket.

The new batsman, Josh Inglis, immediately hit back-to-back boundaries. So as things stand, Australia needs 121 runs at a required run rate of just 3.45. It’s about wickets now.

1.10am - Match on a knife-edge after shaky start

The weather did clear, and Australia’s innings is well underway, though the nerves remain.

They come courtesy of Sri Lankan fast bowler Lahiru Madushanka, who took the wickets of both David Warner and Steve Smith in the fourth over, leaving Australia at 24/2.

Warner was given out LBW but immediately reviewed, believing the ball was set to miss leg stump. The DRS verdict, however, was “umpire’s call”, and he had to go.

Smith followed him back to the pavilion, without scoring, five balls later, having copped a full ball that swung into his pads and trapped him plumb.

Marnus Labuschagne and Mitch Marsh set about righting the innings. Luckily, thanks to Sri Lanka’s low total, the run rate is barely an issue at all.

12.15am - Match delayed by bad weather

The covers are currently on ahead of Australia’s innings, with wind as much the cause as any actual moisture in the air.

Hopefully it doesn’t last very long.

11.35pm - Australia keep World Cup hopes alive

More than two hours into their third World Cup contest it looked like Australia’s nightmare was going from bad to downright horrific.

With 21 overs in the books, Sri Lankan openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera held all the cards as they piled on 125 runs.

Then the breakthrough came and once the Aussie bowlers saw one wicket fall they got their tails up.

Wickets fell at a consistent rate as the Aussies turned the screws on their rivals, capturing all 10 wickets for only 84 runs as Sri Lanka’s innings came to an end at 209.

Adam Zampa was the chief destroyer with the ball in hand, capturing 4/47 from eight overs while Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins claimed two wickets each.

Despite the dominance in the second half of the innings, the Aussies still have a key task on their hands.

Not once at this World Cup have they managed to score more than 200 runs, if they’re not able to secure the win their hopes of making the finals will be slim to none.

The Aussies finally found their groove. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)

11.20pm - One wicket left in Aussie onslaught

Mitchell Starc has his second wicket after a scorching inswinging yorker thundered into the stumps of Lahiru Kumara.

Sri Lanka are on the brink of losing 10 wickets for less than 100 runs after the openers combined for a 125-run stand.

11.15pm - Zampa tearing Sri Lankan hearts out

Adam Zampa is producing when Australia needed it most with a brilliant delivery to claim his third wicket of the match.

Chamika Karunaratne became the latest man sent on his way after being completely done in by a wrong-un from Zampa.

The ball thundered into the pads of Karunaratne with Joel Wilson’s finger going up almost as soon as the appeal began.

In his very next over the Aussie spinner claimed his fourth wicket with another gem of a delivery that left Maheesh Theekshana stranded on the crease.

The ball thumped into his pads and after a brief pause Wilson's finger was raised. Theekshana elected to review the decision but it was futile as DRS showed three red lights.

10.55pm - Sri Lanka in all sorts

Australia are in complete control of this contest now after Dunith Wellalage ran himself out in horror scenes.

After being 0/125, Sri Lanka have lost six wickets for less than 60 runs with the tail now exposed with plenty of overs left to be bowled.

Pat Cummins was the man to strike with the runout after a picture perfect throw from mid-off slammed into the stumps and found Wellalage short of his crease.

10.40pm - Play resumes and Starc strikes

With only the second ball after the rain delay the Aussies have claimed their fifth wicket. An around the wicket delivery from Mitchell Starc caught the inside edge of Dhananjaya de Silva and clattered into the stumps.

10.20pm - David Warner’s selfless act

As the arm wrestle unfolded, the heavens opened and brought play to a standstill as the covers were brought out onto the ground.

Aussie opener David Warner didn’t rush off like his teammates, he instead gave the ground staff a helping hand by grabbing onto one of the covers and dragging it out into position.

David Warner is really coming for @Uz_Khawaja’s title as the people’s champ 😂#CWC23pic.twitter.com/xUbaEEcYGl

— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) October 16, 2023

Warner’s classy act comes days after Australia’s female cricketer’s did the same classy act against the West Indies.

As heavy showers struck the Junction Oval, Aussie players were seen dashing from the dressing room to help the five-person ground staff team pull the covers over the pitch.

Players risked injury as they joined in as they rushed to help the staff in an attempt to protect the pitch from further damage in farcical scenes as the match ended in a draw with just 25 overs bowled.

10pm - Australia now with the upper hand

Adam Zampa has claimed his second wicket after thundering one into the pads of Sadeera Samarawickrama.

Umpire Joel Wilson barely hesitated as he lifted his finger into the air but the Sri Lankan star was just as quick to send it upstairs for review.

After a lengthy delay the replays rolled and showed the ball was close to leg stump with DRS ruling it as umpire's decision.

Sri Lanka had reached 125 runs without the loss of a wicket, but have since lost 4/41.

That never looked out for a second. Samawickarama absolutely stitched up

— Rudi Edsall (@RudiEdsall) October 16, 2023

9.45pm - Momentum starting to turn

The Aussies are picking up wickets at a consistent rate with Adam Zampa claiming the key wicket of Kusal Mendis for only 9 runs.

Mendis went after Zampa but skied his sweep attempt high into the sky where it was hauled in once again by David Warner.

Warner covered incredible ground before dropping down onto one knee for the catch. The Aussie opener’s knee dug into the turf and resulted in him limping after he hauled in the catch.

9.40pm - Sri Lankan danger man sent packing

Pat Cummins has struck for the second time, this time sending Kusal Perera on his way after a brilliant innings of 78.

A perfect delivery from Cummins snuck between bat and pad and thundered into the stumps, sending the bails flying.

9.20pm - Australia finally get the breakthrough

After 21.4 overs the Aussies have their first wicket with opener Pathem Nissanka sent on his way for 61.

A bouncer from skipper Pat Cummins crept up on Nissanka as his pull shot fell into the hands of a diving David Warner.

Warner came rushing in off the boundary rope and took an excellent catch after the Aussies have failed miserably in the field in their opening two matches.

8.45pm - Nightmare just keeps getting worse

Australia’s World Cup nightmare is going from bad to worse.

The Aussies have looked completely lost against the Sri Lankan openers as the scoreboard just keeps on ticking over.

With 15 overs in the books, the Aussies will be left to rue what could have been after Glenn Maxwell emphatically appealed for LBW in the 10th over.

His shouting fell on deaf ears as Pat Cummins elected to not review it having burnt one review on the first ball of the innings.

Replays rolled moments later showing Maxwell’s delivery was going on to hit leg stump and would have given the Aussies their first wicket.

Oh no.

8.05pm - Fans nowhere to be seen at World Cup

Stadiums around India have remained largely empty despite the best cricketers on the planet battling it out for ODI supremacy.

The embarrassing scenes have been highlighted by those watching on throughout the 2023 World Cup with even more piling in on Monday night.

In a must win clash for both Australia and Sri Lanka, the teams walked out onto the ground with empty seats as far as the eye could see.

AAP’s Oliver Caffrey wrote: “Marsh Cup sort of crowd for toda’s match.”

One user on X wrote: “Where’s the crowd at Lucknow? It’s worse than a North Melbourne AFL crowd at Blundstone Arena in Hobart.”

Another sarcastically posted: “Another massive crowd for #CWC23.”

A third wrote: “Ekana stadium Lucknow is a flop show. @BCCI don’t even know to setup proper prize at different stadiums. Over priced tickets has layed to a quite crowd at Lucknow.”

Hard to find a spare seat in Lucknow... (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

7.30pm - Opening over carnage

In what is being touted as a do-or-die contest, the Aussies got off to the worst possible start.

Mitchell Starc’s first ball of the innings swung back across the stumps and appeared to hit opener Pathem Nissanka on the pads. The Aussie quick was certain the ball had hit the pads first and urged his skipper to send the decision upstairs.

Unfortunately as replays rolled it not only showed the ball would have missed leg stump, Nissanka had got bat onto the ball first. One ball down, one review lost.

Several balls later Starc stopped after reaching the crease as he issued a warning to Kusal Perera for leaving his crease early.

“After the first ball Starc had a little word with the umpire, Kusal Perera just leaving his crease... he was saying to Kusal Perera ‘don’t leave your crease’,” Nasser Hussain said.

“That’s fair enough, he’s told the umpire now he’s told the batter, stay in your crease at that end... a very eventful first over.”

Mitchell Starc warns Perera to not leave his crease early.

7.05pm - Sri Lanka win the toss and elect to bat

The Aussies have suffered their first loss on the night with Pat Cummins losing the coin toss on a wicket predicted to suit the first team far better.

Despite the rumour mill going into overdrive on Monday, Cummins took his place alongside his teammates for the crucial showdown.

Australia: David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoins, Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (c, wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka

Cummins and Kusal Mendis at the toss of the coin. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

6.50pm – Bombshell rumour hangs over skipper’s head

Australia mean business in their attempts to resurrect their diabolical World Cup start and it went next level on Monday when a bombshell rumour was floated by former Aussie skipper Michael Clarke.

Clarke shared what he had heard on Monday morning when he stated current captain Pat Cummins would be dropped for the game against Sri Lanka.

“I heard last night that Pat Cummins is not going to be selected for this game,” Clarke said on Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.

“We’ve dropped our wicketkeeper... who is one of the most important people in your squad. So he got one game and got dropped. Now there’s talk we’re going to drop our captain.

“If Alex Carey is only given one game, he shouldn’t be in India. They shouldn’t have taken him. If Pat Cummins is going to get dropped and not captain the team, then you guys have selected the wrong captain.”

Will he be axed or won’t he. (Photo by R. Satish BABU / AFP)

Clarke also took aim at Australia earlier in the week for its “horrible” preparation in the lead-up to the World Cup, something he doubled down on ahead of the game against South Africa.

“I heard the players say our preparation was perfect. No, no — you had enough games of cricket but you didn’t use those games,” Clarke said.

“You didn’t pick your best players. You didn’t work out are we going to bat first, bowl first. You didn’t work out who’s playing where, you didn’t even pick your captain to let him captain some games of cricket. So come World Cup semi-final [or] grand final he knows exactly what he’s doing under pressure.

“Pat Cummins doesn’t captain enough games. He’s in India able to play but they rested him for a game.”

- with AFP

Originally published as Gus Gould slams Aussie matchwinner’s ‘fashion statement’