HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Matt Renshaw smashed his maiden ODI century and fast bowler Nathan Ellis grabbed 5-31 in Australia’s 59-run win over Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
Renshaw’s 109 off 94 balls was complemented by Cooper Connolly’s 51 that gave Australia a total of 294-8 in its first one-day international in Zimbabwe in 12 years.
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Australia players celebrate a wicket during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
Australia's batsman Matt Renshaw plays a shot during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
Australia's batsman Matt Renshaw, left, watches on as Zimbabwe's bowler Newman Nyamhuri bowls during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
Australia's batsman Matt Renshaw celebrates his century during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
Ellis picked up two wickets in his first over and then got the vital wicket of top-scorer Craig Ervine (59) in his return spell as Zimbabwe got bowled out for 235 in 45.1 overs to give Australia 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Skipper Sikandar Raza made 57 off 76 balls, but when Spencer Johnson clean bowled him with a perfect yorker in the 36th over, it took the game out of Zimbabwe’s range.
Zimbabwe ran into early trouble through Ellis’ twin strikes in the ninth over and then further slipped to 62-4 in the 14th over when Brendan Taylor holed out off Renshaw’s off-spin. Taylor, one of the three players from Zimbabwe’s famous win when Australia last played an ODI in Zimbabwe in 2014, was brilliantly snapped by Josh Inglis behind the wickets.
Ervine and Raza shared a 98-run stand off 104 balls that gave the home team glimmer of hope before Ellis knocked back the off stump of Evans in the 31st over and also accounted for the wickets of two tail-enders.
Earlier, Renshaw rebuilt Australia from a tricky 107-4 in the 18th over by sharing partnerships of 72 and 74 runs with Alex Carey (27) and Oliver Peake (30) after captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to bat.
Raza wanted to field first on a wicket that had plenty of grass covering, but Australian batters were quick to punish the short balls early on.
Travis Head (4) played on Brad Evans back onto his stumps off the fifth ball he faced, but Marsh, who scored 36 off 28 balls, and Connolly continued to score at a brisk pace in the powerplay. Marsh smashed six fours and a six before he couldn’t clear Brain Bennett at covers to give 20-year-old left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri (5-62) his first wicket.
Renshaw rotated the strike well by running 49 singles and seven twos in his brilliant knock that also featured seven boundaries and three sixes.
Nyamhuri could have dismissed Connolly on 41 but Bennett dropped a sitter and then got a second life when he was caught behind of Raza’s no-ball and then completed his half century off a free hit before he was clean bowled by Raza soon after.
Zimbabwe continued to miss out on chances and Renshaw on 12 was dropped by Ervine at mid-wicket off Raza’s another no-ball before he completed his half-century off 55 balls but gained pace to reach his century off the next 33.
Nyamhuri celebrated his maiden five-wicket haul in the final over when Renshaw mistimed a shot on the leg-side and was caught at deep mid-wicket as Australia scored 66 runs in the final 10 overs.
The series is part of defending champion Australia’s preparations for next year’s World Cup. Regular captain Pat Cummins is being rested for the three ODIs against Zimbabwe before he joins the team in South Africa for three ODIs and test matches.
See AP’s full cricket coverage here
Australia players celebrate a wicket during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
Australia's batsman Matt Renshaw plays a shot during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
Australia's batsman Matt Renshaw, left, watches on as Zimbabwe's bowler Newman Nyamhuri bowls during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
Australia's batsman Matt Renshaw celebrates his century during the first One Day International cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Sept.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked legislation to create a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, stalling an industry-backed effort to place new guardrails around digital assets after demanding more limits on President Donald Trump's investments.
The 49-50 vote on whether to move forward with the legislation was a pivotal election-year test for the $2.3 trillion cryptocurrency market as the industry has pushed aggressively for a uniform set of rules. The Senate debate came as cryptocurrency companies have become a major political force, and as Trump has amassed significant wealth in crypto while in office.
While some Democrats are friendly toward the industry and support the idea of regulation, they have been adamant that the bill include strong ethics safeguards to prevent the president and his family from enriching themselves while he's in office. The opposition appears to have only solidified two months before the midterm elections, despite significant donations that crypto groups have given to some Democrats in recent years.
“Let’s make sure that we do not pass a crypto bill that will let Donald Trump continue to rake in billions of dollars in crypto profits while working families across this country struggle to deal with higher prices and an economy that gets worse by the day,” said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.
As Democrats made clear they would block the bill, Trump agreed to some concessions on ethics, including new restrictions on federal elected officials from issuing digital assets like the presidential meme coins he and his wife Melania launched before he took office for his second term. He agreed to new concessions Sunday, such as additional powers for state attorneys general that Democrats had sought to enforce the crypto measures.
Those concessions were not enough for Democrats, who said the latest Republican proposal did not have enough enforcement. They also wanted a requirement for Trump or any future president to divest if holdings reach a certain value.
The latest version of the legislation “leaves a lot to be desired,” said Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who was involved in last-minute talks with Republicans on the bill.
Democrats sent a counteroffer late Monday that would expand the ethics provision, but they were not able to strike a final deal. Republicans needed Democratic support to win the 60 votes necessary to move forward on the bill in the 53-47 Senate.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican who worked with Gallego to strengthen the ethics provision, said before the vote that he was pleased with Trump’s latest concessions.
“We’re so close,” Tillis said. “It’s just a shame to not take this opportunity.”
Trump’s family has raked in big profits in the crypto sector since he was reelected, including the meme coin, announced the day before Trump took office. Top investors were invited to a private reception with the president.
Trump’s family also has a controlling stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm co-founded with the president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump reported more than $500 million in revenue from World Liberty Financial sales of crypto products, including “governance tokens,” in his annual disclosure report filed with the Office of Government Ethics. That is a significant share of the more than $1.4 billion that the president reported from crypto businesses last year.
A measure enacted into law last year regulating stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency, barred members of Congress and their families from profiting off them, but it did not extend to Trump or his family.
Republicans who have been working on the legislation for more than a year say it could now stall indefinitely. The House and Senate will be out of session during October and before the elections, and the dynamics could significantly shift if Democrats win back the majorities of the House or Senate, or both, in November.
Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, a lead sponsor of the bill, said beforehand that a no vote means ”opposing real ethics reforms on politicians’ personal investments, handing American leadership in digital assets to our foreign competitors, and leaving Americans with zero protections in the digital asset markets.”
Supporters say the legislation aims to give the industry more legal certainty and protect consumers by creating a broad set of guardrails and regulatory requirements, including better enforcement to prevent bad actors and protections to prevent a market collapse.
As talks continued Tuesday morning, Lummis posted on X that it was “now or never for the Clarity Act,” referring to the bill’s name.
“The time for negotiating is over,” she wrote.
Opponents, mostly Democrats, say the bill is a giveaway to the industry as crypto companies have become generous donors to candidates in both parties around the country.
“It’s no secret that they are seeking to ram a bill through Congress based upon not the merits of the bill, but the threat that they will spend even more money in elections against people who vote against it,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
In 2024, the crypto industry spent more than $130 million in congressional races, including $40 million in Ohio and $10 million each in Arizona and Michigan.
“DC received a clear message that being anti-crypto is a good way to end your career, as it doesn’t represent the will of the voters,” Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, the nation’s largest crypto exchange, wrote in a social media post the day after the 2024 election.
Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
Senate Finance Committee member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks to nominees, during a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
FILE - Eric Trump, Executive vice president of The Trump Organization, from right, speaks as co-founder of World Liberty Financial Zach Witkoff and founder of TRON Justin Sun look on during Token 2049, a Crypto event, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)
FILE - Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with technology leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Aug. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
