They weren’t at their best in Sri Lanka, but ICC tournaments bring out the best in the Australian team.
Australia’s Daniel Christian
Daniel Christian, 39, former Australian all-rounder has said it could be an India v Australia final in the Champions Trophy.
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Speaking after Australia Masters lost their opening match of the International Masters League to West Indies Masters by seven wickets on Monday night at the DY Patil Stadium, Christian said: “Australia played good cricket [v England in the CT]. They weren’t at their best in Sri Lanka, but ICC tournaments bring out the best in the Australian team.
They looked in great nick the other night. Even though England got past 350, the Australian bowlers were pretty good particularly without [Mitchell] Starc, [Josh] Hazlewood and [Pat] Cummins, three of the best in the world. When they keep playing like that, there’s every chance of an India-Australia final.”
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Josh Inglis’ unbeaten 120 out-performed England’s Ben Duckett’s record individual score in CT, 165, as Australia successfully chased 352 target last Saturday. Likewise, at Navi Mumbai, Australia Masters captain Shane Watson’s 107 (52b, 9x4, 9x6) went in vain as Lendl Simmons’ 94 not out (44b, 6x4, 8x6) helped Windies Masters reach the 217 target in the final over.
Christian, who played in 20 ODIs and 23 T20Is for Australia, between 2010 and 2021, admired the current young batsmen’s attacking style. “The game’s certainly changed. The youngsters are playing a lot more shots early on in the innings on both sides of the wicket, trying to take down the bowlers from ball one. It makes bowling pretty hard. The bowlers have to hit the exact spot every single time,” Christian said.
Christian, who scored 32 and picked up 1-30 with medium-pace on Monday, is an active T20 player globally, with 412 T20s under his name. “The intensity in the Masters is a little bit low just from the pace of the game. The bowlers are not quite as quick, the fielders are not quite as quick, the batters don’t run as hard in between the wickets.
“In terms of wanting to do well for your country, nothing changes. You are trying to win a game for your country even though it is the Masters and not the main team. There’s certainly a lot of pride and we are trying to do our best,” he said.
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