Cricket World Cup: Andrew McDonald recalls the team meeting after South Africa match that turned Australia’s campaign around | Cricket News

Australia were written off after they lost their opening two matches of the ODI World Cup. But they showed their mental resilience, won nine games on the stretch and ended up winning the World Cup for a record sixth time. They defeated India sox wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. Australia coach Andrew McDonald revealed how the 134-run loss against South Africa turned Australia’s World Cup campaign around.
“There was a get-together post-game (after the South Africa loss),” McDonald said on SEN Whateley.

“But once again, that was really just to reinforce that we were on the right path.
“It was about, ‘Let’s stick to it and believe in what we’ve set out to achieve’, and that it will come to fruition eventually, albeit it didn’t in the first couple of games.
“It was really doubling down. I think we’ve had moments like that when we were 0-2 in India in the Test series as well and you bring the group together and it’s really just reiterating what you set out in the first place.
Australia’s captain Pat Cummins, Australia’s Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne pose with the trophy after wining the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final match against India in Ahmedabad. (AP)
“If you start to pivot at that point in time, I think that can create panic within a group.
“It also means that potentially your planning has been well off and at 0-2 in a nine-match World Cup … it’s not the time to start throwing the ba out with the bath water.
“It was just a time to say, ‘Ok, let’s get moving’.”

Even in their third game against Sri Lanka, Australia were on the ropes. From cruising along at 125 for no loss in the 22nd over, Sri Lanka tottered, horribly, to 209 in the 44th over. The Australian chase wasn’t without hiccups—they were 2 for 24 and 3 for 81—but they wrapped up the chase with 15 overs to spare and five wickets intact.
Australian skipper Pat Cummins was again the central protagon. In his second spell, Cummins bowled with aggression and hostility; he was nasty and mean, bowling with the anger of a rebel. He conjured the wicket that turned the game on its head. The ball that blasted the stumps of Kusal Perera was his staple stuff—angling in from around the stumps to the left-hander, beating him with pace, angle and marginal away movement. But it meant a lot to him. His celebrations are usually mild, a beatific smile spreads over his face. But here, he snarled, the veins of his neck and arms popping out, and punched the air.
Australian players celebrate after winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final match against India in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, Nov.19, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Australian coach showered praise on Cummins back-to-back bouncers against which removed Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera and turned the campaign of the Australian team.
“We came up against Sri Lanka and I thought the bravery was in the moment where Pat Cummins bowed back-to-back bouncers,” McDonald said.
“The second bouncer saw the downfall of Nissanka with a great running catch from Davey Warner.
“I think they were 0/125 at that point in time. No doubt people sitting back here probably thought that was the end of our World Cup.
“We were able to turn it. Patty’s bravery, some fielding execution, an easy run chase and away we went from there. We didn’t really look back.
“There were times when we got stressed as well after that. But it was an incredible run, an incredible streak.
“We got going at the right time.”
In the ongoing five-match T20 series, Australia are again trailing as they have lost the first two matches, but this Australian team certainly know how to turn the corner. The third match of the series in Guwahati.