Australia yesterday hailed the nation’s maiden T20 triumph as “the ultimate World Cup heist,” reveling in the team regaining their “mojo” heading into a blockbuster Ashes series against old enemy England.
Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten 77 steered Justin Langer’s side to an emphatic eight-wicket defeat of New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday to clinch a title that had long eluded them.
Chasing 173 for victory, Australia achieved their target with seven balls to spare on the back of a 92-run, second-wicket stand between Marsh and David Warner, who made 53.
Photo: AFP
It was a sterling performance from a team that went into the tournament beset by poor form, having lost their most recent T20 series 4-1 in Bangladesh in August, minimal game time and dressing-room discontent, with few pundits giving them much hope.
“Australia has pulled off the ultimate World Cup heist — written off as no chance, Justin Langer’s men defied the odds to seal their maiden title in devastating fashion,” the Sydney Daily Telegraph said.
Lifting the trophy for the first time was an ominous signal ahead of the five-Test Ashes series, which starts in Brisbane on Dec. 8, something not lost on Australian media.
“England beware! Australian cricket has got its mojo back,” the Australian reported.
“To say that Australia’s stunning T20 World Cup win will have no bearing on the Ashes is to underestimate the rousing mental euphoria generated by such a win. After a winter of grumbling and years of so-so results, Australia suddenly feels alive, armed and dangerous again,” it added.
The core of the T20 team would also spearhead Australia’s Ashes campaign, including Warner, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
They are due to return to Brisbane imminently on a charter flight with England’s Ashes players who were also involved in the T20 World Cup, where they lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals.
According to English media, fast bowler Mark Wood said it was a journey he “wasn’t looking forward to,” as he worried that the Australians would “wave the trophy around.”
While Marsh stole the headlines for his swashbuckling 77, a major factor in Australia’s success in the United Arab Emirates was the return of Warner to his destructive best.
He entered the tournament after being sidelined by his Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad and with some commentators suggesting he was past his best.
The gutsy opener responded by plundering 289 runs over seven innings to be named player of the tournament, as he warmed up to face England in devastating style.
“I can’t believe people wrote him off a couple of weeks ago saying he was done,” skipper Aaron Finch told Australian reporters. “It was like poking the bear.”
While Australia celebrated, New Zealand media lamented the Black Caps falling to a third straight defeat in the final of a limited-overs tournament.
The New Zealand Herald’s Niall Anderson said there could be no complaints, unlike the 2019 one-day World Cup loss to England, which was decided by a boundary countback after scores finished tied after 20 overs and a super over shootout.
“There is nothing controversial to point to and explain the defeat. No obscure rule, no moment where the game could have turned, no reason for New Zealand to feel aggrieved,” he wrote.
“Instead, there was a simple fact that all in the Kiwi camp had to acknowledge — Australia were simply better,” he added. “Much better.”
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and