Hugh Weibgen’s Australian side navigated the group stage with varying levels of dominance, and importantly, different players have come to the fore at different stages in the competition.
Led by Callum Vidler, their pacers dominated Namibia, but they needed skipper Weibgen to save them from a difficult position and carry them to a win. Against Zimbabwe, Harry Dixon starred with the bat before Harkirat Bajwa’s bowling dismantled the opposition. Rounding off their group stage fixtures, Ryan Hicks came to the rescue in their win against Sri Lanka that cemented their position atop the table.
In the Super Six stage, Weibgen’s sensational century against rivals England set the tone for a dominant win in Kimberley. Next, despite a batting slip-up against West Indies, Sam Konstas’ century helped Australia post a competitive total before rain intervened and helped them seal top spot in Group 2.
In the semi-finals against Pakistan, Australia’s batting faltered yet again after Tom Straker’s six-wicket haul had put them on top. Digging deep, they managed to scrape through by one wicket to set up a mouth-watering tie against India.
