Australia wins the toss and fields against Zimbabwe at the T20 World Cup

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Captain Mitchell Marsh continued his recovery from a testicular injury as Australia won the toss and elected to field against Zimbabwe at the T20 World Cup on Friday.

Marsh sustained the injury in the nets on the eve of Australia’s opening Group B game and missed Australia’s 67-run win against Ireland. Travis Head will continue to lead the side in Marsh's absence.

Tim David was one of the two changes Australia made from the first game as the middle-order batter returned for his first game since a hamstring injury ruled him out of the Big Bash League. David replaced Cooper Connolly with fast bowler Xavier Bartlett making way for Ben Dwarshuis.

It is the first T20 World Cup game between the two nations since Zimbabwe’s stunning five-wicket win over Australia in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007.

Zimbabwe, which started the tournament with an eight-wicket win over Oman, also made two changes with veteran Brendan Taylor, who retired hurt in the first game, replaced by wicketkeeper-batter Tadiwanashe Marumani.

Fast bowler Richard Ngarava was rested and Tony Munyonga made his way into the playing XI.

Four associate nations will be involved in the two other games on Friday. United Arab Emirates will be looking for its first win when it takes on Canada in a Group D game at New Delhi.

The United States, which has already lost to India and Pakistan in Group A, will meet the Netherlands at Chennai, India.

Lineups:

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (captain), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani.

Australia: Travis Head (captain), Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matt Renshaw, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australia's captain Travis Head, second right, toss the coin as Zimbabwe's captain Sikandar Raza, right, watch it before the starts of the T20 World Cup cricket match between Australia and Zimbabwe in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

MIAMI (AP) — Chris Paddack and the Miami Marlins finalized their $4 million, one-year contract Thursday.

The right-hander can earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses.

The team also completed a $1.5 million, one-year deal with left-handed reliever John King. In a corresponding move, left-hander Josh Simpson was designated for assignment.

Miami appears likely to slot Paddack into its rotation after trading Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees.

Paddack, who turned 30 last month, was selected by the Marlins in the eighth round of the 2015 amateur draft and traded to San Diego in June 2016 for pitcher Fernando Rodney.

Paddack was 5-12 with a 5.35 ERA in 28 starts and five relief appearances last year for Minnesota and Detroit, which acquired him on July 28. He was 3-9 with a 4.95 ERA in 21 starts for the Twins and 2-3 with a 6.32 ERA for the Tigers.

He had a $7.5 million salary in the final season of a $12,525,000, three-year deal and earned $1 million in performance bonuses.

Paddack has a 32-36 record and 4.64 ERA in 110 starts and eight relief appearances over seven seasons with San Diego (2019-21), Minnesota (2022-25) and Detroit.

To open a roster spot, Miami placed right-hander Ronny Henriquez on the 60-day injured list. He will miss the season following right elbow UCL reconstruction during the offseason.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Chris Paddack sits in the dugout during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, July 30, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, file)