BRIDGETOWN (Barbados): England can finally sing into the sunset, and dance - if not drink and make merry - till the morning breaks.
Right from 1975, when multi-nation limited overs tournaments were first introduced, they have always been left with broken hearts and bucketful of tears; on a bright, shining afternoon here at the Kensington Oval, eventually, they had something more than a pint of beer to smile over: an ICC Trophy.
It is just ironical that it is the T20 World Cup, a format many still reckon doesn’t count as cricket. Clearly, the times have changed; for the English Lions, though, it is a new dawn.
In what was billed an as Ashes final, even before the first Ashes ball has been bowled, England won the toss, shattered Australia’s top order, and overhauled the below-par total of 147 for six.
Two batsmen of South African descent led the charge, in a way English batsmen probably wouldn’t or couldn’t; maybe, that was the only way to break this jinx. Craig Kieswetter (63: 49b, 7x4, 2x6) and Kevin Pietersen (47: 31b, 4x4, 1x6) smashed 117 runs to snatch the team’s first moment of ICC glory, with over 18 deliveries left.
As Paul Collingwood scored the winning run, Pietersen raced onto the field, arms held high and screaming; he was followed by the rest of his mates, and it didn’t take them long to pin down their captain. Within no time, the huddle materialised: the celebrations followed. Australia, on the other hand, still have to wait.
Earlier, after electing to field on a promising track, England snapped three quick wickets to go right on top. But then entered the other Hussey: David; and, in typical Aussie fashion, he began the repair work. David started with extreme caution (7 off 19 deliveries), first unravelling the pitch to his satisfaction: then, as the nerves settled down along with the demons, he began the counter-attack. After 10 overs, though, Australia were merely 47 for four, with the top order back in the hut.
As soon as captain Michael Clarke (27) fell, though, just like brother Michael had done in the semifinal two days ago, David took charge. In the 13th over, probably energised by the sight of Cameron White, he smashed spinner Hardy for a six; White promptly responded with a 4, 6, 4, altogether 22 runs. The charge had begun. In no time, they were head to head, sprinting for singles and creating those big hits. By the 15th over, Australia were back in the game: 94 for four. Next over, however, White stumbled, after what might well be a script-turning 30 (19b, 4x4, 1x6).
The two Husseys were together now; the duo continued to hunt for runs; but against a disciplined England bowling on a not-too-docile track, it was not easy. They had to bat maturely, and smartly, rather than by being reckless or over-ambitious.
David eventually made 59, run out, including a couple of fours and sixes each; Mike faced 10 deliveries and scampered to 17, without being able to pull out his sledgehammer again though. England were spirited and mostly sharp with the line and length too. Spinner Swann, one for 17, was particularly impressive.
Australia needed their pacers to strike, fast and quick: Dirk Nannes showed the usual promise and Shaun Tait effected the breakthrough in the next; but after that everything fell apart.
Kieswetter and Pietersen plucked a page out of Aussie tactics, attacking from the start itself; it put the Aussies on the backfoot, and they panicked a bit too.
have defeated  in the final of the  to win the tournament. England won by 7 wickets at the , , Barbados to lift the World Cup. A 111 run partnership between , the man of the match and , the man of the tournament, helped them in chasing down the target of 148 runs set by Australia.

England won the toss and opted to . Australia scored 147 runs, losing 6 wickets in their twenty overs.  was the top scorer, getting 59 runs. Australia scored only 47 runs for 4 wickets in their first ten overs. David Hussey and  added 22 runs in the thirteenth over, thus helping their team to get to 147 for 6 in their innings. For England, Ryan Sidebottom took two wickets for 26 runs in four overs.

Early in England's innings,  of Australia took the wicket of  of England, when the latter was caught by David Hussey at mid-wicket.  of England came when Lumb got out, and helped England to reach 44 runs in the six  overs. The partnership between Pietersen and Kieswetter helped their team to reach the target of 148 runs in seventeen overs, with three overs in hand.

England captain  told the media  that he thought "belief had been the key." "As soon as we got the squad together, seeing how much power we have in the squad, I know that is all on paper but we could tell that we had a lot of potential," he commented.

"I think a lot of credit goes to every single player in the dressing room to have the confidence to go out there and really give it their best shots and have no regrets. I think we have done that throughout the tournament and it has certainly paid off," he noted.

For England, this is the first victory in a  as they had never won a single one-day or T20 World Cup or the  tournament till this victory. In this connection,  Collingwood said: "this is right up there, with the best," adding "to be the first England team to win a 'World Cup' is very special. We knew it was a ."

Meanwhile, Australian captain  admitted his disappointment at the result. He conceded that his performance was poor, saying, "There's no doubt the selectors will need to have a look at my performances. I certainly know they haven't been up to scratch through this whole tournament and probably in Twenty20 cricket in general. I'm sure the selectors will sit down and have a look and if I'm not the right guy for No 3 and the captaincy then they'll make that decision"

Newly elected UK  David Cameron praised the English team. "Congratulations to Paul Collingwood and the England Twenty20 team on becoming world champions for the first time with a magnificent victory over Australia. Let's hope this marks the start of a great summer of sport for England," he said. 

The   commented: "I'm absolutely delighted England have won the World Twenty20. They have played exciting and intelligent cricket and are worthy winners."

=== Scorecard ===
'''Toss:''' England won, and chose to field first.














'''Fall of wickets:''' 1-2 (Watson, 0.3 ov), 2-7 (Warner, 1.5 ov), 3-8 (Haddin, 2.1 ov), 4-45 (Clarke, 9.2 ov), 5-95 (White, 15.4 ov), 6-142 (DJ Hussey, 19.2 ov)

'''Did not bat:''' Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes




















'''Fall of wickets:'''1-7 (Lumb, 1.5 ov), 2-118 (Pietersen, 13.1 ov), 3-121 (Kieswetter, 14.1 ov)

'''Did not bat:''' Luke Wright, Tim Bresnan, Michael Yardy, Greamme Swann, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom









'''England:''' , , , , , , , , , , , 

'''Australia:''' , , , , , , , , , , 

'''Man of the match:'''  (England)

'''Umpires:'''  (Pakistan) and  (West Indies)
'''TV Umpire:'''  (New Zealand)
'''Match Referee:'''  (Sri Lanka)
'''Reserve Umpire:'''  (South Africa)