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Five things Australia learnt at the World T20

Roar Rookie
3rd April, 2014
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George Bailey will lead the Tigers out today (AFP PHOTO/PUNIT PARANJPE)
Roar Rookie
3rd April, 2014
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After one win from four matches, the World T20 is over for an Australia team touted as one of the more dangerous to be unleashed on cricket’s shortest form. Here are the five things Australia could learn from the tournament.

Dead at the death
The alarming lack of death bowling from Australia was critical in the losses to Pakistan and West Indies.

Most agonising was in our second match, with Australia in a strong position and the Windies needing 31 off two overs. Mitchell Starc proceeded to bowl a series of half-volleys and leg-side deliveries to one of the world’s most dangerous late-order hitters in Darren Sammy. The West Indian captain took full toll, amassing 19 runs off the over.

Then our most well-renowned death bowler, James Faulkner, delivered two stinging yorkers, followed by two half-volleys that Sammy ruthlessly belted over the fence to end the game.

Tempo, boys, tempo
It seemed every batsman that walked out tried to hit the first ball for six. Glenn Maxwell aside, the timing of most of the Australian batsmen was off, especially during the Indian farce. Aaron Finch showed fight in the first match, crafting out a patient innings (by T20 standards) but ran out of partners to finish the job.

Despite the experience in the side, the lack of tempo was evident during our two losing chases.

Spin on the subcontinent
The lack of quality finger spin in the team was a serious oversight from the selection panel. By the last match, part-time finger spinners Maxwell and Brad Hodge were preferred over wrist spinning duo James Muirhead and Brad Hogg.

The conditions in Bangladesh, and over most of the subcontinent, favour the quicker-paced finger spin dealt out by the likes of Saeed Ajmal and Ravi Ashwin.

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The rise of Finch and Maxwell
One of the few positives is the continued rise of both Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell as world-class T20 performers. Both will anchor Australia’s T20 side until the next World T20, and both shape as explosive gems for the 50-over World Cup next year.

Both showed the ability to hit to and over the boundary and Maxwell’s handy off-spin and excellent fielding provide a real x-factor in our limited-overs teams that has been missing since the retirement of Andrew Symonds.

The long grind
The long summer took its toll on the Australian team, with players like David Warner and Shane Watson looking worn out during stages of the tournament. The injuries to Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner robbed us of two of our most influential bowlers and late order hitters and upset the balance of the team.

Doug Bollinger, Starc and Nathan Coulter-Nile tried manfully but they lacked the ingenuity of Faulker and the shear brutality of Johnson.

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