‘Wins in the subcontinent got us here’ – McDonald after WTC win
Australia’s performances in the subcontinent in the last WTC cycle played a major role in their success, according to coach Andrew McDonald. Speaking after Australia’s triumph over India in the WTC Final, McDonald lauded his side’s wins in Test matches across Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.
Last year in their historic tour of Pakistan, Australia managed to win the third and final Test after the first two Tests ended in draws. After clinching that series, Australia also managed to win a Test match in Sri Lanka before drawing that series 1-1. Earlier this year, they kept the series alive in India by winning the third Test that also sealed their place in the final.
“You can string down series in isolation, you can talk about the subcontinent journey where we went from Pakistan to Sri Lanka into India,” he said. “We had to navigate through that. So it was a tricky World Test championship cycle. So I think the wins in the subcontinent got us here. We’re really strong in Australia. So I think that most people would expect us to be winning Test matches in Australia, but to be able to execute in Pakistan, win a Test match in Sri Lanka and then to get that win in Indore to secure a place in the final was vitally important to give us this opportunity. And we’ve been able to take that, so it’s a job well done.”
When asked where this triumph ranks amongst the numerous trophies Australia have collected over the years, McDonald admitted that Australia are just buying into the new concept of the WTC having missed out on the inaugural final in 2021. “It’s a new concept,” he remarked. “But we’re certainly buying into the concept and I think that was probably the disappointment of the first couple of years when it was in existence where we missed out due to over rate so we’ve made it a significant focus of ours.
“Every time we come into a series we’re checking in around where we are, there’s a ladder, albeit stretched out over two years, which is a little bit different to other sports, but yeah, it’s high on the priority list. And you put on the priority list, you want to be here and you want to win it and that’s what we’ve been able to do. So it’s right up there. And if you go into that dressing room at the moment, there’s a lot of happy people about, reflecting on what they’ve been able to achieve over the last few years.”
With the schedule cramped up, the celebrations will have to be put on hold for Australia with the Ashes campaign set to get underway in five days’ time. “Probably the next 24 hours we will switch our focus as you will, in what you do to the Ashes and the first Test,” he said. “We can’t wait for it to come around. First was the World Test Championship final. Let’s enjoy what the team’s been able to achieve over the last couple of years and then get excited about Edgbaston ball one.
“So one thing that we’ve got to factor into England is how we deny them those boundaries. So there’s a couple of things that we can potentially tidy up and take from this game into the next one, but different opponent. So we’ll get back to the drawing board around that.”
Australia will have a selection dilemma ahead of that first Test against England following Scott Boland’s impressive performances. Mitchell Starc’s spot could come under consideration with Josh Hazlewood set to return especially after the left-arm seamer went for plenty of runs in the WTC Final. McDonald, however, defended his strike bowler.
“India showed good intent at certain times and the game went at high three-four runs per over,” he recalled. “Mitch at times went a bit more than that and he generally goes at a fraction more than the other bowlers, and they complement each other really, really well. His wicket-taking ability is second to none. We’ve got to weigh all that up when we make decisions. But it’s not a concern because we know what we’re in for in the summer is slightly higher rpo and that’s because of the grounds and the surfaces.
“We value Mitch and what he’s been able to do but we also value Scott and Josh and Patty (Cummins) is clearly an automatic pick being the captain and then you’ve got Nathan Lyon and Cameron Green in and around that. We feel as though we’ve got really good coverage and we’ve got some people here playing county cricket if anything should go wrong.”
© Cricbuzz
