Once upon a time, two teams dressed in green and blue met at the MCG. That night belonged to the green brigade, routing the blue team late thanks to a young, spirited left-arm pacer. He would go on to become the Wasim Akram we all know today, and Pakistan would forever look back at the 1992 ODI World Cup as their cricketing monument of inspiration.
Thirty years on, another match-up between the green and blue-red adorned teams at the hallowed MCG, and again a left-arm pacer rose to the occasion. No, not that one – he is English, and his name is Sam Curran. 12 balls, four runs, and Pakistan’s innings was off to a slow start already. It wasn’t like Babar Azam and company were going anywhere in a hurry. But Curran and company didn’t want to give them that leeway either.
It is a fine story for Sam Curran, player of the final and indeed the tournament. He has been consistently among the wickets, using the powerplay and later overs to good effect. That hint of movement at pace along with the left-arm angle has worked well in his favour. Not to mention, he has worked hard at it. In the nets, Curran practices with a spongy square-shaped target placed on top of the off-stump. He hits it about nine times out of ten. This is remarkable for a T20 bowler, especially in Australian conditions.
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Through the tournament, Curran had proven expensive in only innings when Hardik Pandya launched an awe-inducing attack at Adelaide. It was the only time he conceded 10/over, and overall his tournament economy stayed at a mere 6.52. More impressive was his strike-rate though – he picked up a wicket every 10.4 deliveries in this tournament.
That statistic is valuable – and remarkable – for two reasons. First, England lost Mark Wood through injury. He was proving to be even more impressive than Curran, unleashing his pace in bowler-friendly conditions and at big grounds here. His strike-rate in four innings stood even better – a wicket every 9.3 deliveries. Thus it defined why he was such a huge loss for the English, but Curran was able to duly deliver in his stead.
Sam Curran celebrates after taking a wicket during Pakistan vs England T20 World Cup final in Melbourne on Sunday. AP
Two, because, finding alternatives is precisely the hallmark of tournament-winning bowling attacks. On Sunday night, social media and general chatter in the fan zone was all about how Shaheen Afridi’s injury turned the tide against Pakistan. Yes, it did, but even without him hobbling off, England was the outright favourites with 40 needed off 28 balls. Was it fair that Pakistan – and their fans – felt robbed owing to Afridi’s injury? No, because the best bowling attacks don’t depend on one bowler alone. At best, it stole a close finish from us, one that England would have sealed any which way, again.
It brings forth the notion that England had the best bowling attack in this tournament and not Pakistan. Sample this. In the loss against Ireland, English bowlers were guilty of a poor showing in the first ten overs. They spent 92-1 at the MCG that day and then rain played havoc with their chase. Since then, this same English attack – despite losing Wood – underwent a sea change.
Consequently, in four games against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, England’s performance in the first 10 overs was as follows: 66-2, 80-2, 62-2 and 68-2, respectively. If the common refrain is that bowlers win tournaments and that the best bowling attack should have won, then it certainly did. When things got heated, when performance mattered most, England’s bowlers – led by Curran – rose to the challenge, paving the way with four wins on the bounce.
Of course, it’s just not the bowling that does the job in a T20 tournament. In this shortest format, the bat will always hold credence over the ball. It is even more relevant in conditions where the ball had an advantage for the majority of the tournament as well as in the final.
READ: In a battle of heart vs head, Pakistan win the former, but Cup goes to England
Again, sample this. Jos Buttler and Alex Hales did the bulk of scoring for England with 225 and 212 runs in six innings respectively. The English batting ploy was simple – go hard in the powerplays, especially against the new ball and take advantage of in-field settings on bigger grounds. It worked brilliantly, especially if you see the game against Sri Lanka. That was, arguably, the toughest pitch to bat on for England in this tournament, and victory in that game was an indicator of things to come.
You see, beyond Buttler and Hales, none of the English batters were among the runs. In four innings before the semi-final, the highest aggregate score was 58 runs for Ben Stokes. Taking Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone into consideration as well, none of the middle-order batters had crossed the 60-run mark. There are two ways to look at this statistic – either it was a weakness waiting to be exploited, or simply, England didn’t need them.
That latter bit is presumptuous at best. In a tournament witnessing a wider range of conditions, sooner or later the middle order will come into the picture. Again, that Lanka game thus comes forth as a pointer. On a spin-friendly wicket taking the most turn in this World Cup, England worked out their batting plan well. Attack in the powerplays, and then cruise home – albeit they had to rely on Ben Stokes to do the job later on. Point is, Lanka threw the kitchen sink at the English batting that day, and yet they survived. Victory in that game alone proved England’s championship credentials.
Coming to the final at MCG then, England needed its middle-order to again rise to the occasion. And Stokes again provided a clutch innings – almost as if he is born to do this job for his side repeatedly. In the beginning, he looked under duress and the lack of game time in the middle throughout the competition showed. Soon, he found his rhythm and it came down to that one moment all over again.
As soon as Afridi walked off, his remaining 11 balls became crucial in the context of the game’s situation. Clutch players do precisely this – they wait for the crucial moment and pounce, and Stokes is the best clutch player going around in world cricket. 13 off the next five balls, and Pakistan were knocked out with a kick in the guts.
It encapsulates the picture of England perfectly. Well-focussed with the ball, despite an injury to Wood, and well-rounded with the bat with perfect execution in the powerplays or thereafter, it is the perfect white-ball machine. In going one step further than the 2016 and 2021 T20 World Cups, this English squad has shown it is built to conquer all conditions, and in doing so, might have even improved upon Eoin Morgan’s 2019 ODI Champions.
There is only one conclusion to be had herein. England, in the Buttler era, are now a white-ball giant, and there are more trophies coming their way.
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