CRICKET TWENTY20 WORLD CUP FINAL:ENGLAND STORMED to a seven-wicket victory over Australia at the Kensington Oval in Barbados yesterday to break their 35-year duck in International Cricket Council tournaments.
The ease of England’s success in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 made a mockery of previous failures, as Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen’s stand of 111 helped them cruise past Australia’s 147 for six with three overs to spare.
Kieswetter (63) hit six fours and a six in his 40-ball 50, and Pietersen was almost as dominant in a run chase which became no contest long before captain Paul Collingwood clubbed the winning runs.
England’s second-wicket pair got out before the end, allowing Collingwood to appropriately shepherd his team to the elusive silverware.
Australia, hitherto unbeaten in this tournament, stumbled disastrously to eight for three in the third over after being put in on a pacy pitch.
David Hussey (59) oversaw a well-crafted recovery.
Hussey shared a fifth-wicket stand of 50 with Cameron White and also combined to good effect with his brother Michael to help add 55 in the last five overs.
But the resulting total never looked enough, and in the end England made it seem woefully short.
Their only minor moments of discomfort came with an early departure when Michael Lumb speared a catch to mid-on off Shaun Tait.
Kieswetter returned to crunch the next ball, from Dirk Nannes, past cover for four.
Pietersen soon showed he was once again at the top of his form yet still had to cede centre stage to his fellow South Africa-born batsman.
With the match as good as won, Pietersen got underneath a big hit at Steven Smith to hole out to David Warner’s ultra-safe hands.
And Kieswetter went in bizarre circumstances, lunging away to leg to give himself room leaving himself unable to reach a delivery from Mitchell Johnson which clattered into off and middle-stump.
It made little difference, though, as Collingwood and Dublin’s Eoin Morgan completed a simple task with minimum fuss and to much adulation from a sell-out crowd.
