After two long weeks we are finally at the finale of the third World T20 event. The oldest rivalry in Cricket history is going to a new level with the first ever meeting between the two in the World T20 final. For the winner they will not only win their first World T20 title but also take first points in the lead up to the Ashes.
Australia started off with a shock loss to Zimbabwe but haven’t looked back since, going through to the final unbeaten, although there were some tight moments. England head into the match as the dark horse, who very little picked to make it this far. Mother nature intervened in their group matches but since then England have made their wins look easy and are unbeaten since the group stage.
If the first match you had seen was the Semi-Finals then you would say England would head into this match as favourites, after their convincing win over Sri Lanka. England were more effective on the slower St Lucia pitch, restricting Sri Lanka to 128 and chasing it down with 4 overs to spare. Sri Lanka were arguably the best players of slow bowling left in the tournament, so the fact both their spinners went for under 6 an over is something to ponder for the Australians.
Australia, on the other hand, were all but eliminated from this tournament with two overs remaining. But Michael Hussey ensured the two form teams in the tournament would get their much deserved final. The Australian bowlers got taken to for the first time, the main difference between the Semi-Final and previous matches, was no early breakthrough. This left Steven Smith and Shane Watson to try and get a breakthrough, something which Steven Smith almost did. The death bowling was under the pump for the first time in this tournament, previously it had been the tailenders taking on Johnson and Nannes. However, against Pakistan it was the destructive Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq at the crease, and they showed the death bowling is still a huge concern for Australia.
Heading into this match, Australia will want to make the early breakthrough, in particular the wicket of Kevin Pietersen. The English batting lineup goes even deeper than the Aussie one, so if they have wickets in hand, a big total is well and truly on the cards. The death bowling for Australia was a problem during the tour of New Zealand in both the ODI and T20 matches and it was exposed again during the Semi. The bowlers will need to get this right or the long English batting lineup will be ready to take full advantage.
England will need to see off the pace trio, who will enjoy being back on the quicker Barbados pitch and remove the openers quickly. Leaving Warner and Watson at the crease for more than 10 overs is like committing team suicide, especially considering the hitting power to follow them.
Key Players
For Australia: Really you could say all the Australians minus Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin are key players for Australia. The ones England will want to pay close attention to are David Warner and Shane Watson in the batting and Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait in the bowling. In those pairs, you have the players that can destroy your base before you can even find your legs.
For England: Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan hold the key in the batting while Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad in the bowling. Broad may not have made the head waves that the Australia pace bowlers have but his impact from the last Ashes will remain on the mind of the Australians. Swann has destroyed the Australian batting lineup before and playing spin is still not their strong suit.
Key Matchups
Shane Watson, David Warner vs Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom: This will set the tone for the innings, if the English bowlers can get the early breakthrough, it will give the rest of the bowlers more confidence.
Australian pace trio vs Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen: This match up will be the tone setter for England’s innings. If Australia can remove Morgan and Pietersen cheaply, they will get the opportunity to see what the rest of the English lineup is made of.
England spinners vs Australian batsmen: With potentially 8 overs from the English spinners, Australia will need to make sure they keep their wickets in tact and get the upper hand against them, as a repeat of what Sri Lanka did could result in a sub 130 total as well.
Likely lineups
Australia have no injury concerns and aren’t ones to change a winning lineup.
Australia: 1. David Warner, 2. Shane Watson, 3. Michael Clarke (c), 4. David Hussey, 5. Cameron White, 6. Brad Haddin (wk), 7. Michael Hussey, 8. Steven Smith, 9. Mitchell Johnson, 10. Dirk Nannes, 11. Shaun Tait.
England will be unchanged from the Semi bar any late injuries.
England: 1. Michael Lumb, 2. Craig Kieswetter (wk), 3. Kevin Pietersen, 4. Paul Collingwood (c), 5. Eoin Morgan, 6. Luke Wright, 7. Tim Bresnan, 8. Graeme Swann, 9. Michael Yardy, 10. Stuart Broad, 11. Ryan Sidebottom.
