It is always a crushing moment for sports fans when their team is eliminated from a tournament, and even more so when it is their national team.
Following Australia’s capitulation to India in the ICC World T20 the Aussies are back on a flight to Sydney while the tournament continues without them.
As Australian cricket fans should we turn off the TV and return to our normal lives? Or should we continue to watch what will likely be some breathtaking cricket in the three games that remain of the competition?
Assuming that we watch on the questions remains, who should we support?
There surely can be no definitive answer to this question due to the four teams that remain – England, New Zealand, India and the West Indies.
Australians that have heritage in any of those four countries have it easy at this point. Aussies who do not have more of a challenge on their hands.
We can definitively rule out one of the sides. There is no self-respecting Australian cricket fan that would support the Old Enemy and therefore it is not even worth going into a debate about England. It is just not happening.
Almost the same could be said about New Zealand just with less venom. Our neighbours from across the ditch have never really had our number when it has come to bat and ball, but the way in which they have done away with the green and gold on the rugby league and union fields may cause Aussies too much heartache.
Could we support the team that knocked us out, a team that has arguably been our biggest rival in world cricket over the past decade? Can Aussies unite behind Virat Kohli?
It could happen. India are the favourites for the crown and have some of the world’s best talent but too much too soon may hurt their chances of support in this country.
Recent pain and old wounds should give Aussies only one answer – the West Indies.
Chris Gayle and his lads have done little to hurt Australian cricket fans over the last couple of decades and thus would be the obvious choice when looking at the other contenders.
There would be a few who don’t want to support Mr ‘Don’t Blush Baby’ and for that we must give them their due, but from a purely on-field perspective they must be our favourite team at this point.
What would bring down West Indies support in this country is that they look to be the weakest team of the final four.
Australians do not like losing, therefore would we back the team who has the slimmest chance of winning?
Well, we do love an underdog.
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