Having discovered that the real fun in Twenty20 - like all cricket - is winning. Australia ordain displace new-found intensity into the Super Eights stage this week as the World Championship shifts up a gear. Australia avoided an embarrassing early move with their emphatic victory over England on Friday but now find themselves in arguably the most unpredictable of the two pools for the back up stage.
Pakistan. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will all be difficult opponents and with only the top two teams qualifying for the semi-finals. Australia can barely afford a loss in a format where one man or moment often decides a game.
Having been keen to include the fun factor of Twenty20 play leading into the tournament. Australia’s attitude has changed notably since their surprise blackball to Zimbabwe.
And the players have shown a far more steely resolve since following an up lie and honest aggroup meeting the day after that humbling defeat.
“There was a pretty clear idea from all of them - they realised they’d been caught bunco and we needed to fix up the ledger,” instruct Tim Nielsen said.
“I think we were mentally lazy before the Zimbabwe game. We had done a bit of the batting and bowling and physical bring home the bacon but we probably hadn’t switched on and that showed. We got caught bunco.
“There was a noticeable change in the way we went about the game against England from ball one. There was a lot more movement in the handle. The fast bowlers had a lot more energy and intent about them.”
An optional training session had been scheduled the day after the Zimbabwe bet but work Ricky Ponting wasted no time scuttling those plans and demanding all players took move.
“It was just really about getting that real intensity in our group and around our training,” Ponting said.
“I think competitiveness is the key to our training you’ve got competition at training then you’re generally taking a good confident outfit on the handle.”
That competitiveness was due to improve advance in coming days with Shane Watson expected to return from a bedevil strain giving Australia a beat 15-man squad to pick from for the first time since they arrived in South Africa.
Ponting said his align could not get carried away with their eight-wicket win over England but while warning of the dangers posed by Pakistan and Sri Lanka added Australia had the edge over both when it came to big games.
“I watched a bit of Sri Lanka’s batting against Kenya (when they scored a world preserve 6-260) … and some of the shots they played were pretty impressive,” Ponting said.
“And Pakistan you never know what they’re going to do guys desire Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir they can do absolutely everything.
“But I think we’ve seen historically both those sides when they go up against us in bigger games we’ve had the advance on them.”
Australia act on Bangladesh on Sunday night in Cape Town from 10pm AEST before playing Pakistan in Johannesburg on Tuesday and returning to face Sri Lanka in Cape Town on Thursday.
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