'Fear factor has gone': Aussies cop brutal World Cup truth bomb
Retired New Zealand cricketer Bruce Edgar has dropped a brutal truth bomb on Australia, claiming no one fears Aaron Finch's men anymore, ahead of Monday morning's (AEDT) T20 World Cup final.
The Kiwis go into Monday's decider looking to gain revenge for the loss against their Trans-Tasman rivals in the 2015 World Cup final - albeit in cricket's longer limited-overs format.
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Aussie skipper Finch is one of six Aussie World Cup winners in the T20 squad with fellow opener David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood also part of the 2015 success.
However, Edgar believes the Aussies no longer go into tournaments with a psychological advantage over their rivals, with Finch's men defying many critics by making the final after T20 series defeats to New Zealand, the West Indies and Bangladesh this year.
Shane Warne made a similar point recently when he insisted the Aussies were not feared by opposition teams, in a more sweeping statement about Australian cricket in all formats.
“Our side’s not as great, this ‘almighty Australia’,” Warne told Fox Cricket.
“But here’s the big thing: No one fears Australia anymore. Coming to Australia, everyone used to go ‘oh we’re going to have to be at our best to even compete’. Now they just believe they can beat Australia – every side.”
Edgar says while the 2015 World Cup defeat may have left mental scars for Kiwi teams in the past, the same can't be said for current crop of players.
“I think the 2015 World Cup won’t necessarily be front and centre, but it’ll be a piece of history they’ll be thinking about,” Edgar told The Age.
“The Aussies always rated our rugby but never rated our cricket. ‘We’re better than you guys (at cricket), simple as that, and we always will be’. Maybe that gap has closed now.
"The fear factor has gone. It’s a bit like teams playing the All Blacks. It’s equalised a bit more now. It’s time for the Black Caps to settle a score from their experiences in Melbourne in 2015.
“The Aussie mentality in the 1980s was ‘we’ll beat anyone in front of us’. That was a team ethos and it’s always been like that with (Ricky) Ponting and (Michael) Clarke and (Adam) Gilchrist. There are now (New Zealand) players with experience and mental toughness that there has not always been.”
The chance of victory for either side in Monday's decider could come down to the toss of the coin, with just 16 of the 44 matches won by the team batting first.
Finch has backed his Aussie side to buck that trend if they are made to bat first, despite all five of their wins coming when they batted second.
The Aussie skipper, who put Pakistan in to bat after winning the toss in the semi-final, said he was confident Australia could defy the odds and emerge victorious if they bat first.
Aaron Finch not fazed about batting first
"Absolutely it can be overcome. I said a couple of weeks ago that to win this tournament, at some point you are going to have to win the tournament by batting first," he said.
"I was actually hoping to lose the toss because I would've loved to have put a score on the board against Pakistan.
"It comes down to the day. If you can put a big enough total on the board and make the opposition take risks early in their innings then that's what it's all about and to try and exploit that.
"I reckon around the world T20 teams love chasing but it comes with its risks if an opposition puts a big score on."
The only time Australia batted first in the Middle East was their sole loss of the tournament when they were humiliated by England.
Other sides might have sought changes after they lost by eight wickets, but the Australian captain says there has been an element of vindication in sticking solid to their strategy and selection.
"We just spoke about backing our plans and skills," he said.
"You have to be brave in T20 cricket and put it all on the line.
"The fact we've done it with bat and ball shows the commitment from the team to be able to stick to their own plans and play to their strengths."
Since that loss to England, Australia have strung three impressive wins together but Finch bristled at the suggestion any "momentum" would help their cause on Monday morning.
"I don't believe in momentum especially in tournaments like this," he added.
"You're playing a different opposition all the time so you're not playing on the same wicket, same opposition so it's hard to drill into any positive match-ups you might get.
"It's about the team who turns up and executes on the day. T20 cricket can be brutal at times."
with AAP
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