Hard-hitting batter Tim David delivered with the ball for Australia in the fifth ODI against South Africa. David was introduced by Mitchell Marsh to break the partnership with Aiden Markram and David Miller before the slog overs. The spinner got the wicket of Markram first ball to achieve the rare milestone. He became the first Australian bowler to take a wicket off the first ball of ODI career.
David was introduced in the 42nd over. Markram who was batting on 93 shuffled to play the sweep shot. He could not hit the ball from the middle of the bat but it hit the toe. The ball carried to Michael Neser in the deep. Markram missed his third ODI century. David managed to break the 109-run fifth-wicket partnership.
David became the 31st bowler in ODI cricket to take a wicket off the first ball of his career. While no Australian bowler had achieved the feat in ODIs, the feat was first achieved against them. In 1972, England's Geoff Arnold took the wicket of Australian opener Graeme Watson to etch his name on record books.
David conceded just five runs from his first over in ODI cricket. He was given the ball in the 46th over. Marco Jansen took him on and hit him for one six and two fours in the 15-run over. He was taken off the attack by Marsh after taking a beating from Jansen.
However, the 26-year-old could not do much with the bat. At no.7, he got bowled by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj after scoring just a single in the unsuccessful run chase of 316 at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.
The Singapore-born cricketer made his ODI debut against South Africa in the ongoing series. After two single-digit scores, he contributed with a cameo of 25-ball 35 in another successful run chase.
David was not selected in Australia’s provisional World Cup squad. It will be interesting to see whether he will be picked for the ODI series in India with big names returning and Marnus Labuschagne making a case for himself with consistent performances.
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