Promise of another epic, 30 years on Australian brains trust in big Melbourne showdown

Rain threatens to curtail the T20 World Cup final and it could spill into the reserve day but if it doesn’t, the finalists of the ’92 ODI World Cup are braced for a thriller

MELBOURNE: There are narratives and then there are counternarratives, slow strategic buildups as opposed to instinct-fuelled turnarounds, logic against bare-knuckled whim.

Neither team conforms to any stereotype but the intrigue is discernible—this after all is a World Cup final between two teams that lost to Ireland and Zimbabwe. But England and Pakistan have not allowed those setbacks to define their campaign. They didn’t gather momentum, yet they kept pushing till they found the touch that promises a T20 version of one of the great oneday finals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 30 years ago.

Now, like then, Pakistan are the more mercurial team—losing to their biggest rivals in an edge-of-the-seat thriller, slipping against Zimbabwe, almost packing their bags till the Dutch threw them a lifeline by sinking South Africa.

Pakistan didn’t need a second invitation. And so, three weeks after the defeat that almost brought them to their knees, Pakistan are back at their field of dreams. If they win, and there is already a 50% chance of that, cricket will be enriched with more legends.

England bank on batting

There’s no denying the facts though. England are the stronger batting side. Pakistan have the better bowling attack. England are fitter, sharper on the field and thrive on a data-driven approach that sparked a whiteball revolution for the ages. Pakistan have freakish talents and a raw instinct for winning ICC finals, irrespective of how they reach it. There are similarities too. Both teams’ over-reliance on openers is well-documented. And in many ways the middle order has not been tested enough.

But there is no way you can quantify a team better than the other. England bat deep, they have a complementing spin attack and some of the best hitters of the game come in at No 6 or 7.

Pakistan more than compensate with a six-man bowling attack that has among others, Shadab Khan, who has been a revelation with his all-round skills.

More than anything, this is an opportunity to establish a whiteball legacy few other teams have been able to achieve. Pakistan, having won the Champions Trophy in 2017, have the opportunity to add a second T20 World Cup to it.

But England are primed to front a white-ball renaissance, having won the ODI World Cup in 2019. “Yeah, I don’t think there’s at any time loads of chances for world tournaments,” Buttler said on Saturday. “They don’t come around too often. As a group a few of us are getting a little bit older, but I think in the professional age you can generally play a little bit longer; maybe if you

MELBOURNE: Matthew Mott is one win away from coaching a T20 World Cup-winning team in both men and women if England clinch the final on Sunday. If Pakistan win, two all-time great opening partners and best friends—Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden—would have achieved victory, as coach and mentor respectively, for two dif- ferent teams in successive edi- tions. Mike Hussey and David Saker are working behind the scenes with England while former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait has been one of the reasons Pakistan have the best economy rate since the Super 12s. Take a look at the T20 World Cup finalists and you will see Australians holding key posi- tions in both teams.

The logic is simple: To win in Australia, take help from Australian experts. Unlike India, many teams have long resorted to event-specific consultancy. Paki- stan got Tait as bowling coach in February and Hayden as mentor in September. England think dif- ferently. They have already sepa- rated white-ball and red-ball duties, making Mott and Brendon McCullum the respective head coaches. It’s an approach England skipper Jos Buttler feels could become popular going forward.

Coaches for formats

“It’s certainly something I think other teams may look at,” Buttler said at the MCG on Saturday. “Even when sort of one person was in charge, you were sort of seeing them having to miss certain series or one of the assistants taking over for a little bit. Certainly, in terms of the stability of the groups, it’s a real plus that we know exactly who our coaching staff is, who our head coach is, and they have full ownership over that team.”

It is with this clarity that Mott, a former opener for New South Wales and Victoria, was given the job after he guided the Australia women’s team to the ODI World Cup against England in New Zealand this year. It was just the win needed to round off Mott’s growing white-ball credentials, following the Women’s T20 World Cup final win against India at the MCG in 2020. Over seven years in charge, Mott slowly changed the face of Aus

Matthew Hayden, Role: Team mentor

Hayden, who won the ODI World Cup with Australia in

2003 and 2007, was part of the Pakistan coaching staff in last year's T20 World Cup too. Seems to have imparted self-belief in the Pakistan camp.

tralian women’s cricket, transforming them into a sharper, more athletic unit. After that high, England was just the right challenge for him.

“Over your coaching journey you learn off a lot of other people and reflect a lot,” Mott told SEN Radio here. “Being at the right place at the right time is a pretty good strategy. I’ve worked with some outstanding players over my time with the Australian women’s team, and this is an incredible generation of whiteball cricketers here with England.”

BBL inputs

The first thing Mott did after getting the job in June was to enlist the services of Saker and Hussey on short-term deals. Saker, the Melbourne Renegades head coach in the Big Bash League, had already worked as England fast bowling coach between 2010 and 2015. Hussey, the batting coach, brought with him invaluable experience, both as an Australian

Shaun Tait, Role: Bowling coach

Roped in by the

Pakistan team in

February. Given that he played a lot of T20 cricket around the world, he will know what it takes to succeed as a fast bowler in the shortest format.

great and a BBL winner with Sydney Thunder.

For Pakistan too, the BBL factor was prominent in the appointment of Tait given that he had played for Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes before retirement in 2016. With Hayden, they infused the team with the steel and resilience needed to counter hostile conditions and a forgettable start.

The team talk he delivered right after the Bangladesh win was proof of that. “It’s just a miracle that we are seeing unfold here but even before we got to this day, I sensed that we have this trust in the process,” Hayden said in a team video that went viral. “We have got the energy there, we’ve got the commitment and belief in each other, then the magic just unfolds. And today was a magic day. It hasn’t been smooth sailing. If it wasn’t for the Dutch, we would not be here. But we are here and it is powerful because no one wants to see us.”