T20 World Cup: Former Newcastle United manager spotted watching cricket match in UAE

Former Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce was spotted watching the ICC T20 World Cup game between England and Australia on Saturday. Alex Bruce, the son of the 60-year-old football manager, uploaded a picture on Instagram where he and his dad could be seen enjoying the World Cup clash between England and Australia. In the post, Alex Bruce also thanked England's star batter Jonny Bairstow for giving them the tickets to the World Cup game.

"What a great day, Dad and Lad’s day out, well done England and thanks for the tickets @jbairstow21[sic]," Alex Bruce caption the post on his Instagram handle.

Steve Bruce was removed as Newcastle United manager barely two weeks after the £305 million takeovers by the Saudi Arabia consortium. Bruce, who began his managerial career with Sheffield United in 1998, took over the reins at St James' Park in July 2019. He managed the team across 97 matches, registering 28 wins, 28 draws and a whopping 41 losses at a win percentage of 37.6.

Australia vs England

As far as Saturday's match between England and Australia is concerned, the Three Lions defeated their arch-rivals by 8 wickets with 50 balls remaining. Batting first, Australia were restricted for 125 runs in 20 overs. Aaron Finch was the sole batter for the Men in Yellow who scored some runs in the middle as he finished his inning at 44 off 49 balls. Matthew Wade and Ashton Agar also contributed in the middle with 18 and 20 runs, respectively. Australian tail amassed the remaining runs as the side were bowled out for 125 runs. 

In reply, England reached the target in just 11.4 overs with Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow on strike. While Buttler remained unbeaten at 71 off 32 balls, Bairstow finished at 16 off 11 to ensure their side complete the run chase with ease. Jason Roy scored 22 off 20 balls at the top to contribute to the total before he was dismissed by Adam Zampa. Dawid Malan had scored 8 off 8 balls before being dismissed by Agar. Chris Jordan was adjudged the player of the match for picking 3/17 in 4 overs.

(Image: T20WorldCup/ICC/AP)