Australia shrugged off the painful loss of captain Mitchell Marsh to overpower Ireland by 67 runs in their T20 World Cup opener in Colombo.
Marsh was unable to take the field after experiencing “internal testicular bleeding” from a blow in training and is now a doubt for the tournament, with Steve Smith flying in as a potential replacement.
But his team-mates ensured a smoother start to their Group B campaign, bowling out the Irish for just 115 as they defended a first-innings score of 182 for six.
Ireland had their own fitness issue to contend with as skipper Paul Stirling pulled up injured taking a single off the first ball of the reply and was unable to retake the field. Like Marsh, he faces an uncertain future in the competition.
Without Stirling’s power-hitting at the top of the order, the Boys in Green were unable to lay a glove on Australia’s well-drilled attack.
Only a punchy 41 from George Dockrell at number eight spared them an even heftier defeat, with Nathan Ellis reeling through his repertoire to take four for 12, while leg-spinner Adam Zampa took four of his own for 23.
Ireland’s attempt never really recovered from Stirling’s early exit and the contest was all but over as they slipped to 27 for four in the fifth over. Ellis did the damage, bowling Ross Adair and Ben Calitz and having Curtis Campher caught in a decisive new-ball burst.
Lorcan Tucker battled for 24 but it was not until Dockrell’s belated arrival that the run-rate picked up. Both fell to Zampa, who tied up the middle overs expertly to snuff out the challenge.
Australia had earlier scored their runs at more than nine an over, recovering well from Marsh’s absence and the second-over run out of stand-in Travis Head. Josh Inglis and Matt Renshaw both hit 37, Inglis in a rapid 19-ball stay, while Marcus Stoinis took charge in the second half of the innings.
He collected 45 in 29 deliveries as Ireland failed to find a way to shut down the scoring. With two defeats from two, they now face a stiff challenge to reach the next round with fixtures against Oman and Zimbabwe to come.
