Mitchell Starc has ODI milestones and a slice of cricket history in his sights as Australia prepare to tackle Zimbabwe.
Left-arm paceman Starc is five victims away from becoming the sixth player to take 200 wickets for Australia in men's ODIs.
It might be asking too much of 32-year-old Starc to expect him to take all five on what will be, should he play, his 100th ODI appearance.
Indeed, team-mate Marnus Labuschagne has already voiced his view that spin could be the chief wicket-taking threat.
However, as long as Starc takes five at some point over his next four appearances, he will be the fastest player in the history of ODIs to reach 200, surpassing Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq, who got to the mark in 104 matches.
Australia and Zimbabwe will clash in three ODIs at the Riverway Stadium in Townsville, Queensland, over the coming days, with the venue staging its first such matches featuring ICC full-member nations.
These will be first ODI encounters between the teams since August 31, 2014, when Zimbabwe beat Australia by three wickets in Harare.
That result ended the hosts' 31-year wait for a second ODI victory in the rivalry between the teams, after Zimbabwe won at Trent Bridge in the 1983 World Cup but then lost their next 27 completed matches against Australia in the format.
Tasty appetiser for Black Caps series
Tussles with Zimbabwe on Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday come ahead of Australia's three-game series against New Zealand in Cairns, which starts on September 6.
Australia have a 93 per cent win rate against Zimbabwe in men's ODIs, and only against Bangladesh (95 per cent) do they have a higher such success rate in the format (minimum 10 games).
Warner bids to go past Waugh, Raza sharp for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, coached by Dave Houghton and captained by Regis Chakabva, will be out to cause an upset and must aim to nullify David Warner's threat.
Warner has 18 ODI centuries in 133 matches, putting him one away from recording the outright second most tons for Australia in the short format. He is currently level with Mark Waugh, with Ricky Ponting's 29 hundreds leading the way.
It will be Warner's first ODI against Zimbabwe, and the visitors have their own batting threat in the shape of Sikandar Raza, who has hit three centuries in his past six innings in the 50-over international game, including a ton last time out against India.
Raza averages 62 with the bat since the beginning of 2022, the highest for any Zimbabwe batter in ODIs in a single calendar year (minimum 10 games).
Cricket West Indies to reveal squad for ICC T20 World Cup Friday, May 3
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is gearing up to unveil its squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup during a highly anticipated live press conference in Barbados on Friday, May 3. The event will feature CWI's Lead Selector, the Most Honourable Dr. Desmond Haynes, and Head Coach Daren Sammy alongside CWI Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave.
In a statement, Johnny Grave expressed the organization's excitement about the impending announcement and highlighted the decision to host a live press conference as a means to directly engage with fans and media.
"Emphasizing the significance of this moment, we chose to host a live press conference to engage with fans and media directly. We also requested permission from the ICC to align our announcement with this event," said Johnny Grave.
The announcement comes amidst increasing excitement as local box offices across the region open on Thursday, May 2, allowing fans to secure their tickets for the tournament. Additionally, CWI will be releasing the official tournament song on the same day, further adding to the anticipation building around the event.
"Excitement is mounting as local box offices open across the region on Thursday, May 2, and we are equally thrilled to release the official tournament song on the same day. Anticipation is building, and we can't wait to share this journey with cricket enthusiasts worldwide," Grave added.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, set to commence on June 1, will be co-hosted in the Caribbean and the United States, culminating with the finals scheduled to take place in Barbados. With preparations in full swing, CWI's squad announcement promises to be a significant moment in the lead-up to this highly anticipated global cricketing event. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the squad and the exciting journey ahead for Cricket West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup.
IPL: Punjab Kings spinners frustrate CSK in routine win
Punjab Kings eased to back-to-back wins in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday, their spinners doing the damage as they claimed a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings.
The Kings chased down an IPL-record of 262 with eight balls to spare to beat Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, but they didn't need anywhere near that level of big hitting to clinch their first set of consecutive victories this year.
Spinners Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar made it a far more comfortable outing for Punjab, finishing with two wickets apiece and giving up just 33 runs between them through eight overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad did his best to keep CSK in it with his 62 off 48 balls, but they always looked unlikely to defend a middling score of 162, particularly when Deepak Chahar pulled up two deliveries into the Punjab innings and walked gingerly from the field.
Richard Gleeson dismissed Prabhsimran Singh for 13 on his IPL debut, but that was as good as it got for Chennai as Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 25) steadily ate away at their score.
The Super Kings' outing was summed up by Sam Curran's wayward drive spinning away from Shivam Dube at the boundary for a four late on, and Punjab wrapped up their most comfortable win of the season with 13 balls to spare.
Data Debrief: Kings maintain Chennai hoodoo
The Kings' upturn may have come a little too late to give them a genuine shot at the play-offs, but for Chennai, it was a case of more frustration against their bogey team.
Punjab have now won their last five matches against the Super Kings, who have seen their title defence stall with a run of three defeats in four outings.
Marsh named captain in Australia's T20 World Cup squad as Smith and Fraser-McGurk miss out
Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia at next month's T20 World Cup, but Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been left out of the 15-man squad.
Marsh, who has shared the duties on an interim basis since Aaron Finch's retirement, was named the Baggy Greens' permanent T20 skipper on Wednesday.
Test captain Pat Cummins, fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have also been named in the squad, which features 11 of the players that were part of the team that won this tournament in 2021.
However, there is no place for former skipper Smith following a difficult spell of form, while Fraser-McGurk is also absent despite his impressive form in the Indian Premier League.
"This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," selection chief George Bailey said.
"Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.
"Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover.
"Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign."
"It's been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup," Marsh added.
"We have had some strong success in recent times, and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament."
Australia will begin their tournament against Oman on June 5, while they will also play England, Scotland and Namibia in Group B.
Australia's provisional squad:
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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