Evolved Experience over Youthful Exuberance - Australia pump the brakes on age-old theories with dominant T20 World Cup run
Rarely do victories at the business end of ICC events come with such inevitability as they did when Australia brushed aside Bangladesh in their 2024 T20 World Cup Super Eight opener in Antigua. It was a fifth consecutive dominant win for Mitchell Marsh's Men in a tournament increasingly looking like a battle of 'Men vs Boys.'
While many would attribute it to the 'glass half empty' take of the opponents largely being underwhelming, the other way to decipher such a feeling would be a hard look at the core of the Australian squad.
Without thinking twice, guess what the average age of the Australian 11 that took the field against Bangladesh could have been. It's an extraordinary 33, with only Tim David still in his late 20s and the other ten 30 or higher.
Yet, the common unwritten rule that floats around the cricketing community is that a successful T20 side must blend youth with experience or go all-out with young blood. Come to find out, this, like so many, is just another conspiracy theory for the mighty Aussies to tear into pieces.
'Been there done that' - One Yellow jersey (CSK) to the other (Australia)
Where have we seen a team of aging players donning the yellow jersey defy all odds to dominate a T20 tournament? One has to only rewind to IPL 2018 when MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were ridiculed pre-season as 'Dad's army' for carrying multiple players over 30.
Ironically, that CSK squad was similar in average age to the current Aussie outfit at just over 33 years. Four of their regular starters - Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, and Shane Watson were 35+, while eight of the usual playing 11 were over 30
And yet, the franchise silenced their doubters by running through the group stage and channeling their experience in the big moments to triumph for a third time in IPL history. That they went on to win another two IPL titles in 2021 and 2023 with a similar core further rubbishes the theory of Youth over veteran presence.
Following in CSK's footsteps, Australia are on their way to putting to bed that idea of exuberance over experience, thanks to their aging stars' constant evolution, forcing the fans and experts to evolve similarly.
Australia sharpen rough edges of an already well-oiled machine
That the match against Bangladesh turned out to be more another page to Australia's encyclopedia of records than any doubt over the result highlights their dominance of world cricket.
Skipper Pat Cummins became only the second Australian after Brett Lee to pick up a hat trick in T20 World Cups. While such a feat would warrant massive celebrations, Cummins nonchalantly admitted he wasn't even aware until it was displayed on the big screen.
"I had no idea (on the hat-trick), then saw when it came up on the screen. Few (hat-tricks) in juniors, never for Australia. Agar and Ellis, on the bench, have hat-tricks, joined their club. It's pretty awesome to tick that off. Good club to be part of," said Cummins at the post-match presentation.
Fellow pacer Mitchell Starc became the leading wicket-taker in World Cup history (ODI + T20) with a 95th scalp in only his 52nd game. He also brushed off any questions about his bowling rhythm with impressive figures of 1/21 in four overs.
The only potential weak link was Glenn Maxwell, who has been in woeful form since the IPL. And what does he do? Scores 14 effortless runs full of swagger off six deliveries to send a towering message of 'I've arrived' to the other teams in the tournament.
Last but certainly not least. the wily old David Warner eases himself to an eighth T20 World Cup half-century, the second of this tournament to complete the demolition of Bangladesh.
Australia rampaging through a World Cup isn't something alien, for we have seen this movie before in 50-over World Cups in the 2000s. Yet, the air of invincibility the current lot is showcasing with their record eighth straight T20I win will have opposition sides wondering where they can poke even the tiniest of holes to sneak in.
A 3rd consecutive Australia-India finale in an ICC event?
gIs the 2024 T20 World Cup heading towards a third consecutive India-Australia showdown in the grand finale? All signs thus far have pointed toward the marquee match between the arch-rivals deciding the victor.
The two teams are still to be beaten in the tournament and have been the flag-bearers for the sport over the past couple of years. That they are placed in the Super Eight group means a semi-final collision is ruled out.
Unless defending champions England come in the way with their revolutionary white-ball approach, co-hosts West Indies rewind the clock to the 2010s or the Proteas break their World Cup jinx in the big game, an India-Australia blockbuster to cap off the tournament feels like a mere formality.
While the cliched 'anything can happen on a particular day' holds especially in the T20 format, a rampaging Indian unit might again be in the way of Australia and the ICC title.
The Men in Yellow upstaged them on the previous two occasions during last year's World Test Championship and ODI World Cup final. Can Mitchell Marsh's Men make it a hat trick and become holders of all three ICC titles? The next week and a half will answer all those questions, with a possible final dress rehearsal between Australia and India on June 24.