The ICC World Test Championship 2023 final saw Australia conquer India at The Oval in London. From start to finish, Pat Cummins and his men showed their class with bat and ball to complete a comprehensive 209-run victory.
Here are five key takeaways from the #WTC23 final.
1) Travis Head can bat in England
Coming in under pressure at 3-76 on Day 1, South Australian Travis Head showed why he is such an integral part of Australia’s middle-order with a devastating 163 off 174 balls. Head’s maturity as a Test batsman has shone through during this World Test Championship cycle and his match-winning performance epitomised his importance to this Australian men’s side.
Australia’s counter-attacking batsman struck 25 boundaries during his 285-run partnership with Steve Smith. Ironically, Head started the #WTC23 cycle with a sensational hundred against England during the opening test of the 2021-22 Ashes series.
According to Indian captain Rohit Sharma, Head is now Australia’s greatest threat heading into the 2023 Ashes.
Travis Head bats during day three. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
2) Scott Boland is a constant threat
Josh Hazlewood may not be picked in the opening test of the 2023 Ashes, but not because of his form or fitness. Scott Boland’s impressive display in the #WTC23 final has given the selectors a headache leading into Edgbaston.
When the match was there to be won on Day 5, it was Boland’s breakthroughs that changed the course of the final.
Dismissing Kohli and Jadeja in the space of three balls, Boland’s selection in the final was vindicated after the Victorian was chosen ahead of Michael Neser as the third paceman in the Australian team. Now leading into the Ashes, it will be very tough for the selectors to leave Scotty out of the team.
3) Ravichandran Ashwin needed to be picked
Playing four fast-bowlers was always going to be a risk for the Indians. Rohit Sharma won the toss on Day 1, but that was about it. His decision to play Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur at the expense of Ravichandran Ashwin was a big call.
As the No.1 ranked ICC Men’s Test Bowler, Ashwin was denied the opportunity to bowl to a number of Australian left-handed batsman including the eventual man of the match, Travis Head.
On the other hand, Australia played their spinner Nathan Lyon who took four vital wickets in the fourth innings to complete the win for his side. Ashwin’s non-selection will remain a key talking point from this final for the BCCI, Rohit Sharma and all Indian cricket fans.
4) Alex Carey is finding form in Test cricket
A talking point leading into the final was going to be which wicket-keeper could step up on test cricket’s biggest stage. It was Alex Carey, who with knocks of 48 and 66*, really stood up for his side. Carey’s cameos were vital in ensuring Australia kept momentum throughout the end of both their first and second innings.
Alongside Mitch Starc, the pair put on 51 for the eighth wicket to push Australia past 450 on Day 2. While on Day 4, Carey and Green played nicely putting on 93 for the seventh wicket to push the game beyond India’s control.
Now the Australian wicket-keeper is set to come up against Jonny Bairstow in what promises to be an intriguing battle throughout the duration of the Ashes.
(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
5) India can’t win when it matters
On June 23, it will be 10 years since the Indian men’s test cricket team has won an ICC trophy in any format of the game. Despite being in multiple finals and semi-finals, India’s inability to win big tournaments is certainly frustrating their fans, administrators and former players alike.
While India came into the final as the second-ranked team during this #WTC23 cycle (Australia ranked No.1), they were coming into the match with confidence having defeated Australia in India earlier this year with a 2-1 Border-Gavaskar series triumph.
India’s next opportunity to win an ICC tournament will bring huge pressure and expectation on the team, as they now prepare to host a home ODI World Cup in October and November this year.
The last time they hosted this event, they won the title in 2011.
Nick
Roar Rookie
3 & 4 are spot on. 6) India got what they deserved after the heavily curated pitches in the BG trophy. I still absolutely advocate doing whatever you want to your home pitches, but you pay the piper when you head overseas and play on pitches that are by comparison...alien. It was clear that the batsman didn't have a clue how to adjust back to regular bounce, and the fast bowlers were all at sea on where to actually pitch the ball on a pitch that would offer some assistance to them for a change. Finally 7) the world cup is looking more and more disorganised than a rugby league world cup now. It's June and there still isn't a single match schedule published. No one can be certain whether Pakistan will be playing or not, and a final venue hasn't even been agreed to. Scandalous. I was hoping to pop over to watch a couple of games, but on such short notice now, I don't think it can happen.
Steele
Roar Rookie
Yes well, our curator’s certainly didn’t do us any type of favours in comparison to their left hand/right hand pitches! We put roads out for them. I think Aus would have been confident going into this, the pitch had something for everyone. They missed Bumrah more than Ashwin..
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
No worries. I think them beating us twice in Australia assuages any Trophies they might’ve missed.
junk
Roar Rookie
They should have asked the AU batsmen who the Indian bowlers should be. None the AU batsmen like playing against Ashwin.
Will Taylor
Roar Guru
When it matters in ICC tournaments was where I was coming from :)
Will Taylor
Roar Guru
India made the same mistake of not picking Ashwin in England during their test against the Poms in 2022. While his record isn't great there, it's hard to say how good he is in England when they won't pick him. The decision to pick four quicks clearly backfired. Ashwin would have been handy against Australia's left-handers.
JohnB
Roar Rookie
Is Ashwin the number 1 ranked bowler in English conditions? He has a reasonable but hardly compelling record of 7 games for 18 wickets at 28. And it's stretching things to say Lyon took 4 vital wickets in the second innings - one vital and 3 pretty cheap would be nearer the mark. That's not a criticism of him, more an attempt at a fair characterisation. Australia bowled pretty well, took some good catches (dropped or didn't attempt some others), had one brilliant batting partnership and a number of starts, while India lost it by not getting a bit of luck in the opening session of day 1 when the attack they picked had very good conditions to work with, then not bowling well the rest of that day when those conditions eased and they were faced with 2 very good players scoring freely. They then compounded that by a regular sprinkling of impatience and poor shots when batting.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I think the Border Gavaskar Trophy was won by a India when it matters. Like, you know, ad nauseam times. Ashwin not picked was stoopid. ——– I’ve never advocated for Head, Boland, Carey, etc :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: