Mitchell Owen’s international bow was anything but dull. The 23-year-old all-rounder bagged a key wicket, then blasted 50 from 27 deliveries to steer Australia to a three-wicket victory over West Indies in the first of five T20s at Sabina Park.
The numbers tell the main story. Australia, chasing 176, slipped to 117 for 5 before Owen launched six sixes – no fours – and closed the game with four balls to spare. Earlier he had broken a threatening stand by removing Shai Hope for 55, triggering a collapse of 6 for 30. One wicket, one fifty, one win; not a bad day out.
“I thought I was on 36 off the over there when he smacked me for six first ball,” Owen admitted, still laughing about his opening delivery that Shimron Hetmyer deposited over the rope. “But I was lucky Shai hit one up the shoot and got my first wicket. I was pretty nervous running in those first six balls, but nice to get it out of the way.”
Those nerves vanished once he had the bat in hand, though the role was new. Owen dominates the Big Bash as a top-order dasher for Hobart Hurricanes, but Australia wanted a finisher, so in he walked at No. 6 with the asking rate nudging double figures.
“I honestly tried not to look at the field too much and just sort of react to each ball, which I think held me in good stead,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a little bit different, but I think my process, my game plan, wasn’t too different to opening the batting coming in at six. We had to strike at 10s or nines when I came out. So I still had to be nice and positive. If I took my time to sort of try and get into innings, I feel like I sort of dig myself a hole. So, yeah, just try and get after them from ball one.”
That mindset pleased the selectors, who already see Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head as first-choice openers for next year’s T20 World Cup, with Matthew Short in reserve. Owen’s willingness to attack spin – an historical pain point for Australia’s middle order – was particularly welcome; three of his sixes came in four balls off left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein.
Team-mate Ben Dwarshuis, who knows the damage first-hand from net sessions, summed it up neatly: “I’ve been on the receiving end of this bowling to him over the past nine months, and he’s just in a different world at the moment. I think anything that’s remotely missed the mark from a bowling point of view, he seems to to clear the rope. You see zero fours and six sixes. I think that shows that he’s ultra aggressive and if you miss your line and length, he’s going to make you pay.”
A touch of perspective is useful. Owen’s career record in the middle order coming into the match was modest – 174 runs at 14.50 from positions three to eight – so one innings does not guarantee a World Cup berth. But the early evidence is promising, and the fact he delivered under pressure, away from home, won’t have gone unnoticed.
As ever, there is work to do. Australia leaked 55 to Hope and still look for a reliable death-bowling plan. West Indies will feel they left 15–20 runs out there. Game two is tomorrow; different surface, same opportunity for a young man who seems unfazed by the occasion.
For now, Owen can enjoy the simple truth of an ideal start: one cap, one match-winning half-century, and – nerves notwithstanding – a night he is unlikely to forget.
