Aussies Taking England Brand

Adam Collins says Australia’s resurgence in T20 mirrors exactly what England have been doing since 2015 World Cup

- Adam Collins

With three losses on the trot,England’s T20 tri-seriescampaign looks all but over – and Ben Stokes won’t be there to save the day. Trevor Bayliss was adamant when discussing the allrounder's arrival in New Zealand on Friday that he wouldn’t be considered for selection until the ODIs.

Dawid Malan, who has done nothing but enhance his reputation since the start of the tour in October, said during the week that talk of Stokes in the changing rooms dissipated long ago, to the extent that they forgot he was even in court on Tuesday.

“There was one point in the Tests when the boys were chatting around the changing room that he could still make the third Test,” he recalled. “There’s been no chat since. That doesn’t mean no one wants him. Everyone wants him here. He’s a massive part of this team.”

If England do sneak into the final – which would require turning the tables on New Zealand after a close loss in Wellington and then Australia to help them out against the Kiwis – Aaron Finch is pleased that Stokes won’t be there. “I've played with and against Ben quite a bit,” he said with a grin, “so I wasn’t too upset.”

Aussies back on track

Sure, it may have taken a dozen years, but on the available evidence of this tri-series so far, Australia might have finally gotten their T20 act together.

Too often squeezed by schedules and without the best available players, the view of former captain Aaron Finch is that the side’s fortunes have been an after thought by decision makers. But led by an able band of Big Bash allstars, this is a team transformed having already qualified for the tri-series final before crossing the Tasman.