England will be the team to beat in limited-overs cricket over the next two years, according to former Australia captain Steve Waugh.
Old foe Australia won the T20 World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday, beating Pakistan in the final, having also secured the 50-over World Cup in 2019.
The host country failed to make it out of the Super 12 stage after failing to recover from a heavy opening loss to New Zealand.
Speaking to Stats Perform at the Laureus Challenge 2022, presented by Sierra Space, Waugh said Australia’s performance on the tour had been disappointing and left England facing a motivated opponent now that they are top of both formats of cricket with limited appearances.
“It was our home World Cup, I think the fans expected Australia to do well, but they didn’t make the semi-finals, which was disappointing,” Waugh admitted. “They weren’t at their best and in T20s, winning, it’s a very fine line. If you’re not 100 per cent in the game, you’re going to lose the game. And so Australia probably didn’t deserve to be in the semi-finals.
“England, I think, were the better team overall, so they deserved to win it. [and] Pakistan put up a good show.
“But [for] “England is very exciting to win the World Cup 50 times and now the World Cup 20… They have set a benchmark for themselves every other side will try to beat in the next two years.”
Waugh played 168 Test matches for Australia between 1985 and 2004, scoring 10,927 runs at an average of 51.06, as well as making 325 ODI appearances at an average of 32.90.
Asked why he thought Australia struggled in the T20 World Cup, Waugh said: “I just think they didn’t really click. The first game against New Zealand was a really bad result, they lost by 90 runs and that put pressure on them.run rate and almost threw them off balance all the way.
“Captain [Aaron Finch] it was a little out of shape. So maybe that was a bit of a worry in the team. But overall, they were just not on their game. Their pitching wasn’t up to scratch and they looked a bit slow.”
It was England who lifted the trophy, however, with Ben Stokes hitting his first T20I half-century as his side beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final.
“I think it was a fun final [and] it could have gone either way,” Waugh said. “But England had that man called Ben Stokes, who seems to perform in those pressure situations and has almost got a Midas touch in the big games.”
Despite the hosts’ struggles, Waugh still thinks the event was a success, with huge crowds turning out for the games.
“The crowds were great,” he said. “A hundred thousand people saw India play Pakistan at the MCG… People loved it.
“T20 cricket is a real social event. Young people go and watch it, have a good time. And it’s exciting, they get a quick result. And they can see another game the next day.”
