Cricket Warner and Marsh guide Aussies to first world T20 crown
AUSTRALIA were crowned men’s T20 World Cup champions for the first time as fifties from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh consigned New Zealand to another runners-up finish on the global stage.
The Black Caps were seeking a maiden T20 crown themselves to add to their World Test Championship triumph and were given hope by Kane Williamson’s belligerent 85 from 48 balls following a ponderous start batting first in Dubai.
New Zealand’s 172-4 represented the highest score in a T20 final but it was not enough as they lost by eight wickets, with Warner’s 53 off 38 deliveries and Marsh’s 77 not out off 50 deliveries getting Australia home.
Unlike the 2016 showpiece, when the West Indies beat England thanks to four consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite in the last over, there was no grandstand finish as Australia overhauled their target with seven balls to spare.
Williamson, who has been troubled by a longstanding elbow injury in recent weeks, benefited from being dropped on 21 to hammer 10 fours and three sixes, with Mitchell Starc coming in for heavy punishment. He finished with 4-0-60-0, the worst bowling figures in a T20 World Cup final, but Josh Hazlewood was exemplary as he mixed up his speeds to finish with 3-16 and there was rarely any sense of Australia folding.
While Warner finished behind only Babar Azam in the tournament’s run-scoring standings, Australia’s victory owed much to Marsh, who clubbed six fours and four sixes. He was peculiarly dropped for what was Australia’s only loss of the campaign against England but proved his worth here, crunching his first three deliveries for boundaries as he consistently put New Zealand on the back foot.
New Zealand were at a disadvantage from the off after being put in, with teams who have batted second under lights at this venue winning every time in the tournament.