Head's 75-ball hundred leads Australia to series-clinching ODI win against Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Opening batter Travis Head smashed a 75-ball hundred as he led Australia to a series-clinching 84-run victory in the second cricket ODI against Zimbabwe on Friday.

Head’s swashbuckling 112 off 84 balls was well supported by captain Mitchell Marsh’s 53, his 21st ODI half century, and Cooper Connolly’s 78, his third successive 50-plus score in the format, in Australia's sizeable total of 356-6.

Zimbabwe never looked likely to reach the target, despite five of the top six batters scoring 30 or more, and was bowled out for 272 in 48.3 overs.

Captain Sikandar Raza top-scored with 45 while Brendan Taylor (39) and Craig Ervine (38) went at almost a run-a-ball against some disciplined spin bowling.

Australia, playing ODIs in Zimbabwe for the first time in 12 years, won the first game by 59 runs and is favorite to sweep the series in Sunday's third fixture.

Josh Hazlewood (2-48) and Billy Stanlake, the two changes Australia made from the first game, bowled tidy lengths with the new ball but the tourists suffered an injury blow when Stanlake left the field due to a side strain in his fifth over.

The spinners then squeezed Zimbabwe after the powerplay with Matt Renshaw bowling openers Brian Bennett (23) and Ben Curran (30) in his first two overs.

Adam Zampa (2-62) then bowled Innocent Kaia (34) with a superb googly to get his 200th ODI wicket. He also had Ervine well caught by Marsh at short third man from a mistimed reverse sweep.

Connolly (2-25) wrapped up the win with two wickets off successive balls, Raza slicing a catch to long off before No. 11 Blessing Muzarabani was bowled.

Earlier, Raza had expected his pace attack to exploit early moisture, but his decision to bowl first after winning the toss backfired as Australia posted its highest ODI score against Zimbabwe.

Wessly Madhevere couldn’t hold onto a tough chance at backward point, when Marsh drove at Muzarabani, as the openers raced to 62-0 in eight overs, smashing nine fours and two sixes.

Head and Marsh went on to post a 130-run stand off 114 balls. Marsh completed his half century with a pull for six off Wellington Masakadza before he was undone by the left-arm spinner in the next over, and was clean bowled off a delivery that turned away from the right-hand batter.

Head, who struck 15 fours and three sixes, continued to score at a brisk pace and brought up his hundred midway through the innings with a single. He then skied a catch to cover point against Madhevere's slower ball.

The strong middle-order, led by Connolly’s 69-ball innings and Ollie Peake’s 41 off 18 balls, produced a late onslaught for Australia.

Peake hit 24 runs from Brad Evans' final over that featured three sixes. Muzarabani (0-68) and Newman Nyamhuri (0-37), who took five wickets in the first game, drew a blank but Evans finished with 3-86.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

Australia's bowler Matt Renshaw, center, celebrates a wicket with teammates during a second one day international cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday, Sept.18, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Australia's batsman Alex Carey, left, plays a shot whilst Zimbabwe's wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor watches on during the second one-day international cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday, Sept.18, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Australia's batsman Travis Head, left, celebrates his half century next to Zimbabwe's captain Sikandar Butt during the second-one day international cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday, Sept.18, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

Australia's Travis Head, right, plays a shot as Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor watches during the second one-day international cricket match between Zimbabwe and Australia in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Wonder Mashura)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An immigration officer pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges that he lied to the FBI about being attacked before he shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge after prosecutors indicted him this month on six federal counts of making false statements about the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.

Castro, in a black suit and with an electric monitor visible at his ankle, said very little during the hearing. He was suspended without pay by ICE earlier this year.

Castro’s federal hearing came a day after he appeared in state court on assault charges and was released from custody. His defense attorney, Daniel Gerdts, declined to comment on the case as he left the courthouse Friday.

The court proceedings followed months of legal battles over whether Castro, 52, would be extradited from Texas, his home state, to face charges in Minnesota. He ended up returning on his own after being freed from a Texas jail last month.

The case was quickly pulled into national politics. Minnesota is a frequent target of President Donald Trump, who regularly derides Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who ran as the vice presidential candidate in the last presidential election, as well as Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Trump ally, at times tied his refusal to sign Castro's extradition warrant to ongoing investigations of massive fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota. Trump used the fraud investigations to justify the crackdown.

In both the federal and state cases against Castro, prosecutors say he shot 24-year-old Sosa-Celis in the leg while firing through the front door of a Minneapolis home. They say Castro later lied to investigators when he told them he had been attacked with a broom handle and a snow shovel before firing his gun.

Minnesota prosecutors charged him in May, but were thwarted in their efforts to extradite him from Texas, where he had been arrested.

He eventually turned himself in to federal authorities when officials sounded alarms that he might flee across the U.S.-Mexico border after being released from a Texas jail. He was indicted separately in U.S. District Court earlier this month.

It’s the first Justice Department prosecution of a federal officer for actions during this year’s Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of agents to the Twin Cities and led to sweeping protests, arrests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers.

During an earlier hearing before a federal judge in Texas, Castro was released on a $75,000 bond and ordered to wear a GPS ankle monitor. He was also told to surrender his passport and any personal firearms.

Minnesota authorities have battled the Trump administration over who should handle any charges against Castro. The Department of Homeland Security has called Minnesota’s prosecution of Castro “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt,” saying only federal authorities have jurisdiction.

Authorities, including Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, arrested Castro in Texas on May 29, after a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant.

Minnesota sought his extradition during his Texas detainment but Abbott refused to sign an extradition warrant.

Associated Press journalist Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.

Christian Castro, right, an immigration officer who is accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year and lying to investigators about what happened, leaves with his attorney Daniel Gerdts, left, after a hearing at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Christian Castro, right, an immigration officer who is accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year and lying to investigators about what happened, leaves with his attorney Daniel Gerdts, left, after a hearing at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison leaves after a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)