Mike Atherton: Australia come good yet again in T20 World Cup final as Ashes loom

If they go at it with as much gusto as they batted in the final, it will be quite a scene. In an intimidating display, they bullied New Zealand off the park, initially through David Warner, a man who had been sidelined by his Indian Premier League franchise and whose place had been questioned in a poor start to this tournament, and then Mitchell Marsh, a bull of a man who has promised much over the years but has not always delivered and has divided opinion in his homeland.

Having dominated Test cricket and the 50-over World Cup for such long periods, Australia’s failure to lift the T20 World Cup has always been something of a puzzle, as has their uneven relationship with T20 internationals in general. It would be wrong to say they dominated throughout this tournament, but they peaked at the right time, beating very worthy opponents, Pakistan, in the semi-final and a Kane Williamson-inspired New Zealand in the final.

They were not touted to win beforehand and, following their eight-wicket evisceration at the hands of England early on, few gave them much of a chance but they brushed themselves down, altered the balance of their team slightly but significantly, and went on a galloping, unbeaten run. In front of a healthy crowd, they were good value for their victory, showing few nerves in the run chase and winning at a canter. Winning the toss and chasing helped, of course, as it has done throughout this predictable tournament.

After defeat by England, Australia went back to playing the extra batsman (Marsh had been left out in that match) as they were forced to increase their net run rate and this produced greater intent and aggression, which coincided with the return to form of Warner. The 35-year-old made a rapid half-century in the final, showing all his dash and flair, and Marsh adorned the occasion with the quickest half-century in World T20 finals, a brutal innings that shut New Zealand out of the game.

New Zealand had set a challenging total thanks to their outstanding captain, Williamson, who played one of his finest T20 innings. Having battled an elbow injury that had prevented him from practising to his usual assiduous standards, Williamson had been struggling for form and fluency. Now, though, on the grand stage, with his team needing him to lead from the front, he proved himself once again to be a champion across formats.

Williamson was in early, but there were few signs of a return to form initially and there was no acceleration as the powerplay drifted to a close. The last three overs of it produced just nine runs and a glut of dot balls to Williamson, with the result that New Zealand were restricted to their lowest powerplay score in the competition. At halfway, they had only 57 runs.

Australia’s fielding has been unusually fallible. They dropped three catches in the semi-final and put another two down here, one of which proved to be the catalyst for Williamson’s revival. Mitchell Starc was the bowler, Josh Hazlewood the culprit at fine leg when he palmed a straightforward catch to the boundary. It spurred Williamson into action. He had made a run-a-ball 21 when Hazlewood fluffed the catch; he made 64 more in his next 27 balls.

Starc suffered the brunt of the damage. That over went for 19, as New Zealand broke free of the shackles imposed by Australia’s fast bowlers. Finch got the four vulnerable overs from his fifth bowler out of the way, although they cost 42 runs, and New Zealand managed to double their score in the five overs after the halfway mark. Williamson was now a man transformed, hitting sixes into the stands one-handed.

He shredded Starc’s third over, the 16th of the innings, for 22 runs more, with some remarkable hitting and placement. Starc visibly shrunk from the contest having conceded the most expensive figures of his T20 career and the most by a bowler in a World T20 final. The pain, though, for the bowlers was not yet done, as Warner strode out winding his arms around like a threshing machine, and Marsh waited in the wings.

Finch’s modest tournament as a batsman ended in a whimper and it was Marsh’s arrival that changed things. He was brought up on the hard pitches of Western Australia and rose to the challenge of Adam Milne’s thunderbolts. He hit his first ball into the stands, a ferocious swivel-pull, and followed that with consecutive fours. He looked like a man who meant business and Warner took his cue, blasting a six over mid-wicket off Trent Boult the following over.

In the absence of dew, New Zealand’s hopes lay mid-innings with their spinners on a pitch that was noticeably drier and barer than seen previously. Mitchell Santner found some purchase from the surface when he bowled more slowly, but the occasion proved too much for the leg spinner Ish Sodhi, who bowled poorly with little control. In the battle of the leg spinners, Sodhi was put in the shade by Adam Zampa, the sparky wrist-spinner from New South Wales, who was one of the players of the tournament.

Warner went to his half-century in 34 balls with a six off Jimmy Neesham and Marsh followed three balls quicker. When Warner missed a heave to leg off Boult, the match felt as good as done and there were no hiccups from Marsh and Maxwell, who finished in T20 style with an audacious reverse scoop. Australia, as is their wont, had come good at the business end of the tournament, a victory that will ease some pressure on Justin Langer, their coach.

New Zealand, having missed out in the World Cups of 2015 and 2019, fell at the final hurdle again, but remain outstanding across formats.

As for the plane journey today (Monday), well, England’s players will just have to suck it up and wait for their chance again. Don’t forget the headphones, to cancel out the noise.

- The Times

Originally published as Mike Atherton: Australia come good yet again in T20 World Cup final as Ashes loom