ICC World T20: The Cup returns Home

The wait was finally over. A first World Cup title of any description now sits gleaming alongside the triumphs of Ashes past, such was the eminence of the emphatic win for England, the nation that invented this format of the game, the nation that in fact invented Cricket. They fought back the stature and prestige which they had graciously allowed the rest of the world to plunder.

The build up to the dream final had in itself been a lip smackering prospect for both the teams. Both the nations came into the tournament desperately in need to change the course of history. On one hand the Englishmen were radically in search of their first ICC tournament victory in the 35 years of existence of limited over matches while for the Australians, seeded a lowly 9th in the tournament, it was a chance to show the world that they could play this format of the game with an added incentive of completing a clean-sweep – World Cup (50 overs), Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup. And both the teams did justice to their cause by playing some immaculate cricket throughout the tournament.

England, catapulted beyond the sum of the individual brilliance by a collective quality almost impossible to quantify, had a sense of certainty in the results this past fortnight, underpinned by refreshing competence in all areas. The Australian juggernaut on the other hand continued to roll on destroying their opponents with utmost of ease and a touch of their typical arrogance. Pakistan, although seemed to be on the verge of stopping their onslaught were not able to land in the final blow and the Australians scraped of with one of the greatest T20 wins ever.

The final, touted by many as the reincarnation of the ashes in the shorter format, never lived upto its reputation of being a tough encounter, a showdown unlike the India Pakistan clash three years ago. As was the story at the Kennington Oval during the 2005 Ashes, the Kennsington Oval and the occasion did not suffer for the trans-Atlantic transfer.

England continued with their cagey thrift with the ball and committed themselves to full-on attack with the bat– a strategy similar to the one Australia’s Test team used to thrive on. They were again quick to adopt their leg side short ball tactic. The slow bouncer is Twenty20’s bodyline. Just like the original tactic it is designed to intimidate, the difference being that it relies on frustration rather than fear to scare the batsman.

The Aussies were unable to match the exploits of their opponents with the ball and it was intriguing that they didn’t seem to have a plan B. So far in the competition their bullying pace attack had it pretty much all their own way but after they failed to break through England, they had nothing to fall back on. This is where the attitude of the players and the captain come into the picture. The Aussies, although a better side on paper than their counterparts, found themselves in an unknown territory when their pace battery failed to incur any serious damage and their helplessness was for everyone to see. Once the England batsmen were able to see off the new ball, the result was just a formality.

The result has meant the upcoming of many new horizons in world cricket. The looming Ashes winter has suddenly become a mouth watering prospect. The emergence of a new resilient and united England means that we are unlikely to see a repeat of the last tour Down Under, which began with a reckless wide to second slip from Steve Harmison and ended in whitewashed mortification. Defeat is always possible, but not humiliation.