- The decision gave the national coach sleepless nights
- Aussies triumphed over hosts in Admedabad
- The victory gave the team their sixth World Cup title
It was the call that pushed Australia to a historic sixth World Cup and allowed Travis Head to delve into cricket folklore.
Victorious captain Pat Cummins has praised sleep-depriving ‘risk’ coach Andrew McDonald for deciding to keep Head, who broke his hand in South Africa in the build-up to the tournament, in the squad, hoping more than knowing he better become available at the end of the tournament.
Head’s epic innings of 137 in the final in Ahmedabad, his second century of the tournament after putting on an unforgettable 109 in his opening match against New Zealand, secured his place in World Cup legend.
Having formed a formidable opening partnership with David Warner following the retirement of former captain Aaron Finch, Head’s World Cup was deemed ‘instantly over’ following his injury, Cummins said.
Cummins (pictured celebrating with World Cup trophy) applauds coach Andrew McDonald’s brave decision to keep Travis Head in the squad after he broke his hand
McDonald (pictured second from left, celebrating with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh) was so torn over whether to play the injured star that he couldn’t sleep at night.
But a plan from McDonald, including treatment and rehabilitation in Adelaide, paid off in the best possible way.
“We thought his World Cup was over straight away,” Cummins said after the six-wicket win.
‘It wasn’t until I think it was about the next night, where Ronnie was [McDonald] came to mind. He says, ‘I didn’t sleep all night. I think we’re going to keep him. We’re going to take the risk. He could be the right choice for the Netherlands and if we want to get to the final and win the World Cup, I think he has to be there for the final,” Cummins said.
‘It’s his idea and again great work from the medical team and it means you probably won’t have the second spinner in your team, which is a risk but clearly pays off.
‘I think we could have looked very stupid if that hadn’t helped, but you have to take those risks to win a tournament. And Trav, the player we saw in Test cricket, embodied everything I want from a cricket team.
Head was the match winner in the final, hitting 137 off just 120 balls after taking a stunning catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma
The skipper (pictured celebrating with McDonald after the win) was also full of praise for Marnus Labuschagne’s efforts in the final as he finished on 58 not out
“He takes ownership of the game, he plays with a smile, he just puts the pressure back on the opponent and it’s just a lot of fun to be around. I couldn’t be happier for Trav.”
Cummins also praised Marnus Labuschagne, who was not included in the initial World Cup squad but forced his way in after an injury to spinner Ashton Agar and a decision to use batters for the tournament, with only Adam Zampa as frontline tweaker.
Labuschagne made an unbeaten 58, his third half-century of the tournament, to get Australia over the line.
“We wanted to be very aggressive and then obviously some of our all-rounders are aggressive to end the inning, so we would rather fail that way, but then Marnus just showed his class and in South Africa you had to pick him. Cummins said.
“He was fantastic and he played a different style to probably what he did at the start of his ODI career and it paid off and we know he’s a weapon so you had to try and find space for him. ‘