By Casey O'Connor
The Australian T20 Cricket team has gone from perceived numpties to World Cup Champions in the space of a few weeks and plenty of people are wearing egg on their faces.
Too old, too slow, coach on the outer and poor selections were just some of the comments bandied about in the early stages of the comepitition.
Just a couple of week’s later, that same group added the one trophy missing from the Aussie rap sheet – the T20 World Cup.
Their win the final against our Kiwi cousins from across the ditch was emphatic, chasing- down a record total of 172, the highest ever score in a T20 World Cup final.
David Warner, who was much maligned after early games, wrapped up the series with a stellar performance in the final.
He finished the series with 289 runs at an average of 48.16 and added a Player of the World Cup to his resume.
It should come as no surprise that some are now questioning WHY he (Warner) got the nod.
The 30-year-old opener never fails to divide opinion.
Only weeks ago, he could not get a bat for his IPL side, Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was ditched as captain and eventually found himself out of the 30-man squad. Curious, as he remains SRH’s top run scorer with 4014 runs from 95 games in the IPL.
There were mutterings at the time that those decisions were based on politics in Indian cricket rather than form. I wonder if there are any red faces around that selection table now.
Mitchell Marsh, the other hero of Australia’s record run chase, is another polarising figure who has been much maligned during his career. Granted he has had countless opportunities but has also had a career dogged by injury. A couple of years ago he admitted he was on the nose with the Aussie fans. Like others, I must admit his selection in this squad raised my eyebrows a little. That is obviously why we are fans and not selectors.
It was an emotional win for the number three who smashed an unbeaten 77 off 50 deliveries earning him the Man of the Match.
Warner was the only Aussie batsman to score more for Australia than Marsh during the tournament. The pair were the only Australians to pass a half century in any of the seven games.
The team is now back in Australia. No fanfare for them as they returned through Brisbane airport enroute to mandatory quarantining. They will spend two weeks at the same Gold Coast resort as the Poms as they prepare for game one of the Ashes.
Following Marsh’s match winning knock there are calls for him to be reconsidered for the test number six batting spot.
Any test recall would once again put him in the cross hairs of the armchair selectors – but not this one.
As one scribe wrote of Warner and Marsh following the World Cup final ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’.
Bring on the Ashes
Casey
