Cricket: Mitch Owen reveals simple plan after brilliant debut
Only fellow Tasmanian Ricky Ponting and David Warner had made a half-century on T20 debut for Australia before Owen, shuffled down the order having made his name as an opener, blasted six sixes in an unforgettable 27-ball 50 under the bright lights in Jamaica.
With his parents and girlfriend in the stands at Sabina Park, Owen, who has been 'on the go' since putting his name in the headlines with a century in the Big Bash final, took a wicket with the ball, then made his mark immediately with a fourth-ball six, his first scoring shot, as a signal of intent with the bat.
That was the plan too, always is for Owen, who was modest post-match about his brilliant first-up performance.
'I'm firstly happy we got the win and it was nice to contribute,' he said.
Mitchell Owen blasts one of six sixes at Sabina Park. Picture: Randy Brooks / AFP
'But yeah, it's great to join those class players.
'For me, I've been trying to play positive over the last six to eight months and today wasn't any different, going out there, trying to put the pressure back on the bowlers and I was lucky enough I got a few away early and was able to work into my innings.'
Owen, noting the extra fielders out in the deep the only real difference between coming in as an opener and in the middle order, said his batting plans hardly changed.
'I still went out there and tried to hit six first then work my way down,' he said.
'The difference is five fielders out, but I tried to put that to the back of my mind and just swing hard.'
Owen and Cameron Green put on 80 runs. Picture: Randy Brooks / AFP
Owen put on 80 runs off just 40 balls with Cameron Green, who also made a half-century, forming what could be an imposing long-term partnership between two players still in the infancy of their careers
'It was great to bat with Greeny, it was the first time I've experienced that,' he said
'He was great, kept me nice and calm and to my process. Hopefully, we can do it a lot more.'
Owen's stunning turn in the Big Bash, scoring two hundreds including his whirlwind 108 off just 42 balls in the final in Hobart, resulted in contracts around the international T20 circuit.
He started in South Africa in January, then got gigs in the Pakistan Super League and hit the big-time playing with a call-up to the Indian Premier League, albeit getting just a single game.
Most recently, Owen has been blasting bowlers in Major League Cricket in the US where he was named player of the tournament after making 313 runs and taking 14 wickets in 12 games.
Owen celebrates his half-century. Picture: Randy Brooks / AFP
His efforts landed him an Australian call-up ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, with a spot up the top, or in the middle as a slugging partner for Hurricanes teammate Tim David, all now live options.
'Any time you get a young kid who comes in and performs like that in his first game for Australia, it's always exciting,' Australian captain Mitch Marsh said after Owen's Sabina Park heroics.
'We're pumped for him.
'We want him to come in here and be as relaxed as possible. We understand he's going to be nervous playing for Australia but try and create a relaxed environment where he can hopefully keep doing that for us.'
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Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
- Daily Telegraph
AFL news: Melbourne Demon Steven May learns his fate for his divisive bump on Carlton forward Francis Evans
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Steven May has learned his fate for his hit on Carlton forward Francis Evans that fiercely divided the AFL fraternity and led to a hugely drawn out deliberation. May's act left 23-year-old Evans bloodied with a broken nose and a displaced tooth, graded by the Match Review Officer as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. Referred directly to the Tribunal, the AFL was seeking a three-match ban for the incident and after taking well over an hour to make a call, the charge was upheld and that is the suspension he received. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The Demons entered a not guilty plea to the rough conduct charge and wanted the case thrown out, listing nine reasons for that stance, including May's height, the unexpected bounce of the ball and the fact he didn't jump from the ground. They argued May's contact was not unreasonable as he accelerated towards a footy that was in dispute and the defender believed he would take possession first. Francis Evans was left in a bad way after the Steven May hit. Photos:The AFL argued 33-year-old May had breached his duty of care, however, and they got their way, with May to serve three matches on the sideline. Fox Footy's David Zita, who was at the hearing, reported May telling the Tribunal: 'It was sort of skimming across the surface, so I definitely thought it was my ball, given how the previous couple of bounces went. 'I was surprised Evans got to the ball first and did not try to bump him, maintaining the original line. 'I attempted to slow down, but it was too late. 'I just can't believe I didn't take possession. I thought I did everything right, so I'm just a bit shocked.' May was keen to see a replay. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images) Evans at least had a smile on his face in the rooms after Carlton's win. Picture: Michael Klein The Demons were expected to strongly lean on the case of Fremantle captain Alex Pearce, who initially copped a three-game ban for his collision that concussed Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones back in May. In that incident, the defender had his suspension overturned in what was widely considered a crucial test case for players contesting the ball in collisions which cause concussion. The verdict means May season is all but over, now missing games against St Kilda, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs, returning for the round 23 clash with the Hawks. There were a huge range of opinions over May's incident, which came in the third quarter of the Blues' eight-point win. Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak conceded the outcome for his former teammate Evans was a terrible look, but wondered what else May could have done. 'In my view it's a footy act, in terms of he looked like he had a play on the ball,' he said on AFL 360. 'He went for the ball and the last minute his decision is 'oh no, I can't get the ball' and sort of braced and that's where the impact came from. 'I don't think there's much he can do here, he had a play for the ball until the very last second and has to make a split decision almost to protect himself. 'Unfortunately 'Frankie' gets hit in the head and the outcome looks really bad, there's a lot of blood and concussion and we don't want to see that. 'But it's a decision made at the last second so I'm not sure what else he could've done.' Evans is surrounded by teammates after the collision. (Photo by) West Coast premiership player Will Schofield told AFL Tonight: 'Maybe we see a one-week penalty because of the outcome, but I don't think this is an act we need out of the game. 'I thought he did everything right until he didn't and those sorts of accidental outcomes, I don't think we should be penalising.' Pies great Nathan Buckley took a different stance, telling Fox Footy: 'I don't know whether our game is capable of allowing that anymore.' Many fans took the same side as Boak, but there was still a cross section of opinions on social media. One wrote on X: 'Should be nothing, stop encouraging the continued destruction of the game.' Another tweeted: 'That is 1000% a footy action, contesting the football at all times. It's not even a bump.' A third offered: 'There is no duty of care towards the player and May contacts the head.' A fourth wrote: 'S**t that's terrible, should be 5 weeks.' 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Pearce's testimony was absolutely compelling, so Steven May … he will tell the truth. '(Melbourne's) position is that it would actually add confusion and indeed chaos if he was actually suspended, because we would be totally confused about where we're at, when we got a bit of clarity with Alex Pearce a few weeks back.' In the end, the AFL got its way and May will be out for three weeks. – with Fox Sports Originally published as AFL star Steven May learns his fate for divisive Carlton act
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
AFL star Steven May learns his fate for divisive Carlton act
Steven May has learned his fate for his hit on Carlton forward Francis Evans that fiercely divided the AFL fraternity and led to a hugely drawn out deliberation. May's act left 23-year-old Evans bloodied with a broken nose and a displaced tooth, graded by the Match Review Officer as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. Referred directly to the Tribunal, the AFL was seeking a three-match ban for the incident and after taking well over an hour to make a call, the charge was upheld and that is the suspension he received. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The Demons entered a not guilty plea to the rough conduct charge and wanted the case thrown out, listing nine reasons for that stance, including May's height, the unexpected bounce of the ball and the fact he didn't jump from the ground. They argued May's contact was not unreasonable as he accelerated towards a footy that was in dispute and the defender believed he would take possession first. The AFL argued 33-year-old May had breached his duty of care, however, and they got their way, with May to serve three matches on the sideline. Fox Footy's David Zita, who was at the hearing, reported May telling the Tribunal: 'It was sort of skimming across the surface, so I definitely thought it was my ball, given how the previous couple of bounces went. 'I was surprised Evans got to the ball first and did not try to bump him, maintaining the original line. 'I attempted to slow down, but it was too late. 'I just can't believe I didn't take possession. I thought I did everything right, so I'm just a bit shocked.' The Demons were expected to strongly lean on the case of Fremantle captain Alex Pearce, who initially copped a three-game ban for his collision that concussed Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones back in May. In that incident, the defender had his suspension overturned in what was widely considered a crucial test case for players contesting the ball in collisions which cause concussion. The verdict means May season is all but over, now missing games against St Kilda, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs, returning for the round 23 clash with the Hawks. There were a huge range of opinions over May's incident, which came in the third quarter of the Blues' eight-point win. Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak conceded the outcome for his former teammate Evans was a terrible look, but wondered what else May could have done. 'In my view it's a footy act, in terms of he looked like he had a play on the ball,' he said on AFL 360. 'He went for the ball and the last minute his decision is 'oh no, I can't get the ball' and sort of braced and that's where the impact came from. 'I don't think there's much he can do here, he had a play for the ball until the very last second and has to make a split decision almost to protect himself. 'Unfortunately 'Frankie' gets hit in the head and the outcome looks really bad, there's a lot of blood and concussion and we don't want to see that. 'But it's a decision made at the last second so I'm not sure what else he could've done.' West Coast premiership player Will Schofield told AFL Tonight: 'Maybe we see a one-week penalty because of the outcome, but I don't think this is an act we need out of the game. 'I thought he did everything right until he didn't and those sorts of accidental outcomes, I don't think we should be penalising.' Pies great Nathan Buckley took a different stance, telling Fox Footy: 'I don't know whether our game is capable of allowing that anymore.' Many fans took the same side as Boak, but there was still a cross section of opinions on social media. One wrote on X: 'Should be nothing, stop encouraging the continued destruction of the game.' Another tweeted: 'That is 1000% a footy action, contesting the football at all times. It's not even a bump.' A third offered: 'There is no duty of care towards the player and May contacts the head.' A fourth wrote: 'S**t that's terrible, should be 5 weeks.' In the lead-up to the hearing, journalist Jon Ralph told Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle his intel regarding Melbourne's likely defence. 'They (the Demons) are convinced that Steven May will get off and they think that the Alex Pearce case is the key,' he said. 'Melbourne believes the fact that it was a marking contest for Alex Pearce, rather than a groundball, actually helps them. Because with Pearce, the ball was in the air, it wasn't moving (bouncing unpredictably) there. 'With May, on a slippery night, the ball bounced and bounced, and they felt it was absolutely going to bounce towards May. 'So, in that case, Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson, when he dismissed the Pearce case, said 'it has never been the Tribunal's position that a concussion inevitably results in a careless finding'. 'Adrian Anderson, the Melbourne advocate, will go to work on that statement. Pearce's testimony was absolutely compelling, so Steven May … he will tell the truth. '(Melbourne's) position is that it would actually add confusion and indeed chaos if he was actually suspended, because we would be totally confused about where we're at, when we got a bit of clarity with Alex Pearce a few weeks back.' In the end, the AFL got its way and May will be out for three weeks.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Young Swans defender Riak Andrew cops a huge ban for using a homophobic slur
Young Sydney defender Riak Andrew has copped a heavy sanction from the AFL for using a homophobic slur in last Saturday's VFL clash with North Melbourne. Andrew, 20, has been suspended for five games and took full responsibility for his actions, releasing a statement on behalf of the Swans. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The brother of Gold Coast star Mac Andrew, Riak will also undertake Pride in Sport training to further his understanding of the impact of the language he used. 'I am deeply sorry for the word that I used in Saturday's game and any hurt that it has caused,' Andrew said. 'While I did not understand the full impact of the words I used at the time, I certainly do now, and have deep regret for my actions. 'This has impacted not only our club but the broader community and for that I am truly sorry. I am committed to using this as an opportunity to learn and get better.' The 193cm key defender was taken with the 55th pick in the 2024 AFL Draft after a strong season with the Dandenong Stingrays. Andrew signed a contract extension with the Swans in May, taking him through to the end of the 2026 campaign. The AFL released a statement advising Andrew had been found guilty of breaching a Conduct Unbecoming rule in relation to an incident during the first quarter of the VFL match against the Roos at Tramway Oval. The incident was first reported to an umpire by a North Melbourne player at the end of the first quarter and then to the AFL. An investigation was then carried out by the AFL Integrity Unit, which determined Andrew used a 'highly offensive homophobic slur towards a North Melbourne opponent, which demeans and denigrates persons regardless of their sexuality'. Andrew admitted to the incident and showed remorse, with the suspension effectively ending his first season in the AFL landscape. AFL General Counsel Stephen Meade was clearly disappointed at having to deal with another incident of homophobic language on the footy field. 'It is important that we continue to make clear that homophobia or homophobic language has no place in our game at any level or in the wider community for that matter,' Meade said. 'It is disappointing to be dealing with another incident and while we will always examine the individual circumstances, the clear message is that this language is not acceptable in any workplace and that includes on the field of play.'
