England Destroy Aussies to Record Maiden Title

Wickman could hardly be happier today after watching England despatch a lacklustre Australian side in the World 2020 yesterday. A fired up bowling attack dismantled the much vaunted Australian top order and even Mr Cricket couldn't drag the Aussies up to a par score. But a slightly bad taste in the mouth can't only be attributed to a robust bottle of red consumed after the match.

Wickman prefers the longer form of the game so won't be calling this the finest victory in the history of the game. 2020 can at times produce one sided games just as the 50 over version and Test Cricket can too. Yesterday was no exception. Used to watching England sides throw away finals at crucial moments Wickman was surprised all the way through yesterday's game as England first throttled the oppo and then never let them take another breath.

This was a thoroughly professional and even exciting performance from England. The looks on the faces of the Australian players told the story. From the mini collapse at the beginning onwards there were few smiles and the tension was written across Clarke and Nannes' faces long before Pietersen and Kieswetter took the game away from them.

In fact Wickman can only really recall Haddin's grinning mug in the first couple of overs as he thought Nannes and Mitchell might get in amongst the English. The rest of the time their grim countenances suggested they knew they'd blown it long before England powered across the line. There was very little to recommend in the Australian performance. Hussey's knock just about kept the Aussies in it but he took far too many balls to get going and Clarke's cameo similarly wasn't fluent enough. It seemed they didn't like having to set a total against such miserly bowling and the lower order were in far too early to dominate proceedings as they had in earlier rounds.

In contrast KP and Kieswetter were powerful and dominant from the moment the sightscreen was reset. They never looked back and together took the rate down to less than a run a ball which, in 2020 terms, is almost a guarantee of victory with so many wickets in hand.

During the match Hussain, and after in The Times, Atherton, both bleated about the side, seeming to suggest that no English supporter would be truly happy with the make up of the team given we've got KP, Kieswetter, Lumb and Morgan and none of them were born in this country. This strikes Wickman as slighly rich coming from Nass. Here you can read a short biography of the man which shows him to have been born in Madras and to have begun his cricketing life fetching balls at Chepauk. The distinction he seems to be making is churlish. Just because he began his cricketing career in our set up (unlike the others who trained in South Africa or in Morgan's case, played for Ireland) doesn't by the same harsh ruling make him as English as, say, Atherton, Botham or Sir Fred of Flintoff.

Wickman has written before that most of the current crop of journalists played their careers alongside Hick, Lamb, Robin Smith, Robin Jackman, Andy Caddick and a variety of others who qualified for England through residency having been born abroad. It's certainly a shame that African politics has so damaged that continent's sporting heritage in cricket. But since the country has been captained by a Scot, four South Africans and people born in India, Italy and who knows where else its probably time to shut up and get on with it. That's what leaves the sour taste in this most excellent of multicultural societies. This Englishman (born in Chile) is as proud of this win as he could be...