Australia destroys England euphoria with a one-day hiding.- BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE (eLanka Sports editor)
England were drowned by the T20 World Cup success and found swimming in the waters of euphoria does not translate to continued success.
Well, Australia made that wake up call. Recovering from the hangover of a fantastic and unexpected World Cup glory, England found that maintaining that aura was about focus and consistency.
Australia reminded them that it was built around continued focus which the triumphant Englishmen found they were caught out in a program planned on maintaining status quo.
It also brings into focus that Australia is never off the radar as the most fierce competitor in world cricket, also in most sports in the world.
The one-day whitewash clearly demonstrated the frivolous nature of the white ball game and gives hope to all competing nations in the next edition of the World Cup.
With all that conjecture in the background, the England thrashing in this one day series points to a facinating contest in the upcoming World Cup.
Travis Head and David Warner sent England on a leather hunt smashing centuries after Jos Buttler won the toss and invited Australia to bat first.
Their opening partnership of 269 laid the platform for a massive target of 355 which the English batsmen were never in the contest after losing 7 quick wickets for 95 in a futile chase stifled by a devastating bowling performance by the Australians led by Adam Zampa whose 4 wicket haul sealed their fate.
What the T20 World Cup winners take home will be the scars of reality handed out by the Australians who showed fierce retaliation for their failed campaign at home defending their successful win in the Emirates a year ago.
All the hype of England’s T20 success quickly dissipated in the Aussie onslaught which began with a closely fought out first game before succumbing to a forgettable hiding in the next two games.
From an Australian perspective, the signs look promising for the next edition of the World Cup in India mainly due to the timely return to form by David Warner, Travis Head, Steve Smith and a strong batting line-up that look the best on paper going around. Australia’s bowling is second to none, spearheaded by Skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, Mitchell Stark and three quality spinners in Adam Zampa, Ashton Agar and Mitchell Shwepson.
What will also be interesting will be the performances of the emerging nations who proved to be more than a handful in the shortest format. How they develop their skills in the longer versions which require deeper strategic planning will be followed with keen interest by the ICC and the top rungers.
With more excitement to follow in the upcoming summer with Tests and one- dayers against West Indies and South Africa, Cricket fans are afforded a year to remember after two years of Covid-19 related isolation.
