Sanga’s sage words provide Australia’s Cup blueprint

Kumar Sangakkara might not even remember doing it, but a pre-tournament address from the Sri Lankan legend to Australia’s players prophesied their dominant run at this World Cup.

Victory over South Africa, the side that brought Australian cricket to its knees a little over a year ago, at Old Trafford on Saturday in their final World Cup group game will mark a small milestone in a stunning resurgence for Justin Langer’s 50-over outfit.

It will ensure they finish top of the standings after the preliminary stage of the tournament and while it will mean little to Australia if they can't go on to claim their sixth World Cup title, it's far beyond what many expected of them.

Image Id: FA23D45C31284226A5592ED5F7E92F78 Image Caption: Kumar Sangakkara addressed Australia before the tournament // Getty

Their 0-5 whitewash at the hands of England 12 months ago underlined just how far off the pace Australia – albeit undermanned in that series – had been in the 50-over game for more than a year.

While there were signs they had rediscovered their groove ahead of this tournament, the reigning world champions' extended run of poor results since their 2015 World Cup win meant England and India were widely considered more likely winners of this year’s event.

It was in this context that Sangakkara, in his role as president-to-be of the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club, addressed Australia's squad in Southampton ahead of the tournament.

"Kumar Sangakkara addressed all the teams in Hampshire he made a good point to all of us, he probably can’t even remember he said it," Langer recalled on Thursday.

"He said, 'I’ve got a feeling this World Cup means more to you than just the trophy'.

"I think he’s right."

Sangakkara's comment struck such a chord with Langer that he jotted the message down in his journal and channelled an underdog spirit in the ensuring weeks, an unusual label for an Australian team at a World Cup.

"When we came into the World Cup, there was a lot of talk about how we were playing," Langer continued. "A lot of talk about what happened in South Africa. England and India were flying, South Africa were flying, going well in ODI cricket.

"In a lot of ways, it was nice to come into the tournament under the radar. We’ve been playing our cricket in this tournament under the radar.

"We’ve just gone about our business.

"We talk about humility as one of our values. We don’t just say it because it’s a word on a wall, it's not just corporate speak. We actually believe it. It’s worked so far."

Sangakkara's suggestion was also a reflection of how much the ultimate triumph would mean to the men’s team given the seismic nature of the ball-tampering scandal last year.

Saturday will mark the first time Steve Smith and David Warner have played against the Proteas since their ungracious exits from the Rainbow Nation last year, though the two sides did meet in limited-overs games last Australian summer.

Langer, appointed coach in all three formats in the wake of the Cape Town incident, has had to find a balance between diffusing the emotion sparked by those events and accepting the lessons they provided.

"We've had enough emotion in Australian cricket for the last 12 months to last us a lifetime," Langer said when asked whether the scandal has provided further motivation for his side.

"We know there will be different motivations for different people. I can't talk for them. The motivation for us for this game is to get two points and end up on top of the World Cup table.

"If we were able to do that after what's happened in the last 12 months, to come to the World Cup and end up first, that just shows a great turnaround in Australian cricket.

"We talked about earning respect again from other countries. Hopefully we're doing that, not just by the way we're playing our cricket but also by the way we are going about our business on and off the cricket field.

"It's nice to win games of cricket but there's more to us than just that. The way we're going about our business, hopefully we're doing it the right way."

It’s yet to be seen if Australia can carry Sangakkara’s sage pre-tournament words with them all the way to the ultimate prize.

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: Australia beat England by 64 runs

June 29: Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE