New Zealand vs Australia, Final (N), Dubai (DSC), Nov 14 2021, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Will New Zealand win?
Move over New Zealand and the nice guys analogy. They’ve now turned into bullies. Who’d have thought that in the span of a week, they’d have the chance to avenge both 2019 and 2015 World Cup losses. And to think that they are the current WTC champions. They weren’t even expected to make it past India in the group stages, and they still haven’t hit top gear.
Williamson hasn’t fired yet, the death bowling has been shoddy, but they’ve found someone to stand up at the right place, at the right time. They’ll be without Devon Conway tonight, which should mean that Tim Seifert walks in and takes the keeping gloves as well. It’s unlikely they’ll change anything else.
Will Australia win?
In relative terms, Australia’s campaign has been scratchier. From battling near elimination to playing for NRR to refusing to give in to Shaheen Afridi’s first spell to Matthew Wade’s 6,6,6, they are firing at the right time. Apart from that one game against England where it went horribly wrong, they’ve stuck to a team formula of three all-rounders, and surely they aren’t playing with it tonight. You never know, they win this and we just might get to see season two of The Test.
Team News:
New Zealand:
Injured/Unavailable: Devon Conway stands ruled out after a self-inflicted fracture in the right hand, and will be replaced by Tim Seifert who has played only a single game in this tournament, the one against Pakistan. “Whether we bring Glenn Phillips up one and put Seifert in behind him is something that Kane and I have to work through over the next day or so,” head coach Gary Stead said in the lead-up to the final.
Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Australia:
Injured/Unavailable: Australia have been lucky unlike some other teams with their fitness concerns or availability of players throughout the tournament. And there’s no reason for them to change their winning ways or make-up of the team.
Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
What the Captains said:
“Not too many advantages to either side except that we do play each other and have done so recently on a number of occasions, and had some really good contests. It’s great that we’re playing our neighbor from the other side of the world in a World Cup final, and it’s a really exciting prospect for both teams.” – Kane Williamson
“Everyone had written us off but we had a lot of confidence within. We’re really confident in the way that we were preparing, the way that our strategy was coming together. I think it hasn’t defied expectations. I think we came here with a really clear plan to win the tournament, and we still feel as though we’ve got the squad to do that.” – Aaron Finch
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