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Alastair Cook, England’s stand-in captain, has been fined 10% of his match fees while the rest of the team received a 5% cut on their earnings, for maintaining a slow over-rate during the second Twenty20 against South Africa in Centurion.Match Referee Javagal Srinath imposed the fines on the England team after they were found to have bowled one over short of the requisite amount after time allowances were taken into consideration.As per the ICC Code of Conduct guidelines, individual players are fined 5% of their match fee for each over that is bowled beyond the allotted time limit, while the captain is fined double that amount.South Africa beat England by 84 runs to square the series at 1-1. The teams will now contest a five-match ODI series starting November 20 in Johannesburg.

Graeme Smith and Kevin Pietersen don’t go out of their way to be friends with each other, but at least now they will have something in common to talk about if their paths do cross. At Centurion last week, Pietersen had been in total control on 81 until his horrible mix-up with Jonathan Trott. Today, Smith was cruising towards a century on 75 not out, until an equally grim mix-up with AB de Villiers left him diving in vain for his crease.It was a moment that changed the momentum of the day and left England buoyed on a sapping day in Durban. Things got worse for South Africa when JP Duminy fell to Graham Onions to undo much of the good work done by Smith and Jacques Kallis, who added 150 for the third wicket, and it came a quite a relief when bad light and a thunderstorm forced a premature close.”It’s frustrating when stuff like that happens, but unfortunately these things happen and it’s not ideal,” Kallis said. “It’s not the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last. We’ve moved on and the rest of the guys have to do a job.”We had done really well up until tea and the day was clearly belonging to us, then that half-an-hour, losing those three wickets, wasn’t ideal, and it’s put the day in the balance when we had it by the scruff of the neck.”It was an awful way for Smith to go because he had played an impressive captain’s innings. He has talked a good game since his team came within one wicket of victory at Centurion, but it’s always easier for a skipper when he is also contributing in his primary role – and in the first Test he was the least productive of South Africa’s batsmen. England have targeted him as one of the key scalps, and it was important for Smith not to allow the tourists to exert an early hold over him.The omens weren’t necessarily very good. The last time Smith batted at Kingsmead, against Australia in March, he left the ground with a broken finger courtesy of a hostile Mitchell Johnson, and he was wincing in pain on this occasion when Jimmy Anderson struck him on the left glove and caused a bruised finger.It wasn’t just the latest bash to his finger that made it painful going, but also the accuracy of England’s early bowling which left Smith waiting until his 63rd delivery to collect a boundary. His innings was a model of self-restraint because he is someone who likes to impose himself on the opposition attack. This time, though, he realised such an approach would be foolhardy, and the best way to hurt England was to battle out the new ball and cash in as conditions eased.His final tally of 75 from 186 balls was his second slowest score of fifty-plus in his entire 79-match career, behind only the 209-ball 74 he made against Sri Lanka, at Galle, in 2004. However, the best batsmen can adapt to conditions, and Smith certainly showed that skill.He isn’t a pretty player to watch, but it’s impossible not to admire the steel with which Smith plays his cricket. He was repeatedly beaten early on, especially by Onions whose wicket-to-wicket line was proving a handful, but he helped his cause by playing the line rather than being drawn into chasing deliveries.The fact that all his hard work was ended by a run-out will make it even more galling for South Africa, especially considering it came less than three overs after Kallis had also gone for 75 to end their hardworking partnership which spanned 45 overs.For the sake of the Test match, however, a mini-collapse here and there will be no bad thing. The likelihood is that more time will be lost throughout the next four days to a combination of rain and bad light, so anything to move the match forward will keep the interest alive. Smith managed to do just that on the opening day with a combination of his guts, determination and an ultimately ungainly dismissal.

Match facts

December 26-30, 2009
Start time 10.30am (23.30 GMT)

Big Picture

It’s hard to know what to expect from a contest between the team that hasplayed the most Tests over the past two years and the side that has playedthe fewest. Australia’s hectic schedule means they’ve played 27 Tests sincethis time in 2007, while Pakistan’s home circumstances have limited them toeight Tests in the same period. Australia are coming off a 2-0, thoughtightly-fought, series against West Indies. Pakistan have just drawn 1-1in New Zealand.In years gone you could confidently predict not just an Australian win,but a rout, so dominant have they been against Pakistan since the mid-90s.But this is a different Australia side and as the series against WestIndies proved, one closer back to the pack than ever before. This Pakistanside retains the essence of all Pakistan sides and thus capable ofanything.What can be expected for sure is some high quality pace bowling. After adecade of batting riches, cricket suddenly finds itself with good fastbowlers floating around and few are more exciting than the ones Australiaand Pakistan have; between them, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle, MitchellJohnson, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammmad Asif and Umar Gul are likely todetermine the fate of the series.If Pakistan feel they have the better spinners in Danish Kaneria and SaeedAjmal, Australia will be more than confident that their batting is by farthe stronger. But if all goes well, it could be the most closely-foughtseries between the two sides since the 1994-95 tussle in Pakistan.

Form guide (last five Tests, most recent first)

Australia – WDWLW
Pakistan – DWLDL

Watch out for

Doug Bollinger: He has become Australia’s newest cult bowling hero. Heentertains his team-mates with his antics, thrills the fans with hiswholeheartedness and good humour, and worries the opposition with his pace,swing and consistency. Chris Gayle made no secret of the fact that he feltBollinger was the most dangerous of Australia’s fast men during the recentTest series and Bollinger will be desperate to ensure his place in theattack becomes permanent.Three hundreds on an impressive Pakistan A tour to Australia in Julybrought Umar Akmal into the national side and he hasn’t stoppedscoring since; he already has two international hundreds and a spate offifties. He was hugely impressive in his maiden Test tour against NewZealand and his clear-headed aggression and a steady technique should winhim more fans here.

Team news

All the talk in the lead-up to the Test has surrounded Ricky Ponting’sfitness after suffering elbow tendon damage in the third Test against WestIndies. He trained well on Thursday and Friday and is more than likely totake his place in the side come Boxing Day. On the off chance he is ruledout, Phillip Hughes will come in. Siddle also looks set to return inplace of fellow Victorian Clint McKay after sitting out the WACA Testagainst West Indies with a hamstring strain. Siddle bowled withouttrouble in a state one-day match on Wednesday. A long-standing groinproblem for Nathan Hauritz has opened the doors for young legspinner SteveSmith, but Australia will give Hauritz time till the morning of the Testbefore making a final call.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting(capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin(wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz/Steve Smith, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 DougBollinger.Pakistan have no such injury concerns though a niggle to the fourth fingeron Danish Kaneria’s spinning hand is being looked at. There is talk in thecamp of playing an extra spinner in place of a fast bowler, but that willdepend on the surface and a decision is expected later. Pakistan will notreadily dismantle the pace trio that served them so well in New Zealand.Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Faisal Iqbal,4 Mohammad Yousuf (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Kamran Akmal(wk), 8 Mohammad Aamer, 9 Umar Gul/Saeed Ajmal, 10 Mohammad Asif, 11Danish Kaneria

Pitch and conditions

The drop-in MCG pitches have generally provided a slowish surface in recentyears and the runs haven’t always flowed as easily as at other venues. Theforecast for the five days is mostly good, with temperatures expected torise as the game goes on.

Stats and Trivia

• Pakistan have played eight Tests at the MCG for two wins, in 1978-79and 1981-82
• Australia’s loss to South Africa in Melbourne last summer ended a runof nine consecutive wins for Australia at the MCG
• The MCG is the only one of Australia’s five major venues at whichMichael Clarke has not scored a Test century

Quotes

“I think the conditions here and probably in Sydney as well will helpPakistan.”
“Because Australia don’t have McGrath and Warney anymore, there are morechances of sides coming and playing well over here.”

Chris Tremlett, the six-foot-seven-inch paceman, has signed for Surrey on a three-year deal after being given permission by Hampshire to leave the Rose Bowl.Tremlett, 28, played three Tests for England in 2007 and impressed as his pace and bounce brought 13 wickets against India. Since then, he has been ravaged by injuries and has fallen off the selectors’ radar.Chris Adams, the Surrey coach, said however, that Tremlett has his best years ahead of him and has all the attributes to push for an international recall. “In Chris Tremlett, Surrey have signed a bowler of Test Match ability who is just beginning to approach the prime of his career,” he said.”His height, action and pace make him very well suited to bowling at The Oval and I am looking forward to him developing partnerships with our existing pace attack. He is joining a very different and highly motivated Surrey side and I feel we have got somebody that has the right attributes to continue his England career.”Surrey are in a period of rebuilding their side having appointed 22-year-old Rory Hamilton-Brown as their captain for next season and Tremlett said he’s looking forward to helping Surrey return to the pinnacle of the domestic game. “Coming to Surrey will open an exciting chapter in my career and I am very much looking forward to getting the opportunity to work alongside my new team mates to help return this great club back to the top of English cricket.”Tremlett has taken 289 wickets at 28.66 in his first-class career, but played only seven championship matches for Hampshire during another injury-plagued season last year. With the arrival of Kabir Ali, another former England bowler, at the Rose Bowl last week, Tremett’s place in the Hampshire side was uncertain.”Chris is in a similar position to what Kabir was at Worcestershire,” Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, said. “A new environment will help to challenge and revitalise his career at both domestic and International level and he has therefore been released from his contract with immediate effect. I sincerely hope that this move will allow him to regain the cutting edge we all know he possesses and give him the best chance of re-capturing a place in the England team.”

Scott Styris, the New Zealand allrounder, has been overlooked for the series against Bangladesh but new coach Mark Greatbatch, who is also a selector, said it was partly because New Zealand wanted to test their bench strength.Styris has not been in the first-choice XI for more than year now but when he got his chances in the three ODIs against Pakistan in UAE, he didn’t make any substantial scores or impress with his bowling.”The reason Scott missed out was that we wanted to look at some others for this series,” Greatbatch told the . “He had an opportunity in Dubai as a batter and he didn’t quite take his opportunities to the full there.”Styris was one of the standout players in the Twenty20 domestic competition, the HRV Cup, scoring 274 runs at a strike-rate of 133 besides chipping in with 12 wickets. There have been media reports attributing Styris’ exclusion from the national side to an attitude problem, but Greatbatch scotched those rumours.”It was disappointing to read the speculation that he missed out because of his attitude and there’s no truth to that whatsoever,” he said. “There was no discussion during our selection meetings for this series about his behaviour.”Despite injuries to several New Zealand players, including allrounder Grant Elliott, Styris was left out, but he was encouraged by a call from Greatbatch. “I hope that I’m a valued member of that side and I think I am judging by the fact a lot of the guys this week have been telling me that’s the case,” he said. “I can only take at face value what the selectors told me. Mark Greatbatch has always been straight with me in the past and I have no reason to think that he’s not being the same now.”

Match Facts

Shaun Tait is “very, very quick”, Chris Gayle says•Getty Images

Tuesday, February 23, SCG
Start time 1835 (0735 GMT)

The Big Picture

It’s three months since West Indies played their first match of this tour and they are about to embark on their last chance to beat Australia. A 2-0 Test loss was followed by a 4-0 one-day defeat and a disappointing effort in the first Twenty20. The shortest format might be their best chance to beat Australia but in truth, there has been precious little in their performances over the past couple of weeks to suggest that they will succeed. The story of the top order has been no Gayle, no hope, and their captain’s wild swing to be bowled by Shaun Tait in Hobart continued his lean run in the past month.For Australia, the lure of an unbeaten season is tantalisingly close. The only matches they have failed to win were the Adelaide Test draw with West Indies and the Sydney one-day wash-out, also against Gayle’s men. The Twenty20 outfit looked sharp on Sunday, especially the attack as Tait and Dirk Nannes sped through West Indies’ batting line-up. The openers David Warner and Shane Watson also fired but finding a cohesive and in-form middle order could be the challenge between now and the ICC World Twenty20.

Form guide (most recent first)

Australia WWNLL
West Indies LWLWL

Watch out for…

Of all Australia’s Twenty20 specialists, David Warner is the ultimate short format man. He has still played only four first-class games but in Twenty20 he is an international veteran and his clever strokeplay gave Australia the early advantage in Hobart. He initially drove several balls over extra cover with clean, classy strokes before launching into some midwicket slogs. He’s also playing at his home ground.There are far bigger stars in the West Indies outfit than Nikita Miller but his performance on Sunday showed how important he can be. Gayle used his spinner to open the bowling and Miller kept things tight with wile and skill and finished with 2 for 20 from four overs. Taking the pace off the ball can be useful against Australia’s top order and at the SCG Miller could play a key role.

Team news

Australia must weigh up their reluctance to change a winning team with their desire to test out new players with three matches remaining before the World Twenty20. The allrounder Daniel Christian and the fast man Ryan Harris are the two players in the squad yet to make their Twenty20 debuts and it would make sense to give them a chance. Mitchell Johnson is a known quantity and could rest ahead of the New Zealand series, while Travis Birt’s hold on the No. 6 position looks a little shaky after two matches.Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Daniel Christian, 8 Steven Smith, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Shaun Tait.Gavin Tonge and Brendan Nash have been travelling with the squad throughout the limited-overs portion of the tour without being handed an opportunity. Given the team’s dismal results there seems no reason not to try them out but adding Tonge might upset the batting balance, while Nash is hardly a slogger and has only ever played one Twenty20 for Jamaica. It could mean an unchanged side.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Narsingh Deonarine, 4 Kieron Pollard, 5 Wavell Hinds, 6 Dwayne Smith, 7 Runako Morton, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Darren Sammy, 10 Nikita Miller, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch and conditions

Expect another good batting surface in Sydney, where the forecast for Tuesday is for 29C but the chance of an evening shower.

Stats and trivia

• There’s a distinct pattern to West Indies’ recent Twenty20 results: beginning with their Oval victory over Australia their record reads win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. They must be due for a win
• In Hobart, Narsingh Deonarine became the 16th man to be dismissed for a golden duck on his Twenty20 international debut
• Michael Clarke has a strong record as Australia’s Twenty20 captain – in five games he has led them to four victories and the other match was washed out
  

  Quotes

  “It’s been a good summer for Australian cricket and hopefully we can give the Windies another belting.”
  Shaun Tait is in no mood to be charitable”You have to make the necessary adjustments but at the same time he is very, very quick.”
  Chris Gayle says it isn’t easy facing Tait

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Dale Steyn’s three-wicket burst rocked Deccan, but they fought back superbly to keep their semi-final hopes alive•Indian Premier League

Deccan Chargers survived three huge blows in the first two overs of the match, and some more towards the end by Robin Uthappa, to keep alive their hopes of a semi-final berth. In a match that lurched wildly one way and then another, Harmeet Singh delivered the most decisive blow as Deccan held their nerve and eked out a 13-run win to move up to fifth in the points table.There were several moments in the match when it seemed Royal Challengers Bangalore had nailed the decisive advantage. First, when Dale Steyn took three wickets in first two overs, including those of Adam Gilchrist and Hershelle Gibbs, to reduce Deccan to 14 for 3; then, when Rahul Dravid creamed a classy and effortless 35-ball 49 to put Bangalore right on track in their run-chase; and again, when Uthappa struck two towering sixes off Ryan Harris in the 17th over to reduce the target to 18 from 12 balls.That’s when Harmeet delivered the blow from which there was no comeback for Bangalore. Bowling his back-of-the-hand slower deliveries, he ended Uthappa’s swashbuckling innings, and effectively ruined Bangalore’s run-chase. That over went for just one run, and it was clear which team would end up the winner.Teams have struggled at overhauling even modest totals at this ground, and it was a similar story today, thanks to the conditions which make it a far more even contest between bat and ball than most other venues – the boundaries were much bigger, ensuring shots which would have cleared the ground elsewhere stayed within the arena, and the pitch was slow and assisted spin, causing several batsmen to mis-time lofted shots.Even accounting for those factors, Bangalore, with their power-packed batting line-up, should have fancied their chances, and their run-chase seemed in good health while Dravid was timing the ball crisply after the first-ball dismissal of Manish Pandey. During his 35-ball knock he showcased a whole gamut of strokes, even as Jacques Kallis struggled for timing in a laborious 37-ball 27.The first ominous sign came when Pragyan Ojha, who turned in another sterling display, got one to turn, jump, and bounce at Kallis in his first over. The new ball was probably Bangalore’s best opportunity for runs, but Kallis’ slow knock ensured Deccan still had plenty of runs to defend when the slower bowlers came on. Ojha put in his second superb display against Bangalore – he had taken 2 for 24 four days back – while Harmeet was a revelation with his slower deliveries. Kallis, Dravid and Virat Kohli all fell to lofted shots, while Ross Taylor was done in by a fine yorker from RP Singh, who put forward a much-improved performance.In the end it was left to Uthappa to rescue the team again, but the combination of the conditions and the bowling attack was too much to conquer even for him.Deccan’s score of 151 owed largely to the 82-run fourth-wicket stand between Rohit Sharma and Monish Mishra, who lifted Deccan after a stunning burst from Steyn had them floundering. There wasn’t much pace on the track, but you wouldn’t know it watching Steyn bowl his first three overs. He clearly loves bowling at this venue: on his previous visit here a couple of months back, he returned match figures of 10 for 108 and destroyed India’s famed batting line-up; this time, he did the same with Deccan’s top order.He didn’t touch the 150 kph-mark like he had in the previous two games in his home ground, but the rewards were far more substantial this time. Gilchrist edged his first ball, T Suman had no answers to a perfect short delivery aimed at the body, while Gibbs was beaten by pace and away movement.Rohit and Monish then began the rescue act. After a slow start, both turned it on during a four-over spell between the ninth and 13th overs, which fetched 48. Mishra struck sixes off three consecutive overs, while Rohit caressed three fours in a single over from Kallis. The stand was already worth 82 and threatening many more when a terrible misunderstanding undid all the good work. Andrew Symonds struck a couple of powerful blows down the ground, while Rohit stroked his second half-century of the tournament, but both fell at inopportune moments. Even then, it turned out they had enough runs on the board to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

Australia are hopeful of Shane Watson being fit for next week’s second Test in Hamilton after he was ruled out of the series opener in Wellington due to a strain to his right hip. Watson’s injury allowed Phillip Hughes to make an unexpected return to Test cricket at the Basin Reserve but with eight days until the Hamilton Test, Watson should be fit to resume his place.”He was close to playing here,” the team physio Alex Kountouris said. “He still has to be able to bat and get through all the things he has to do. It’s very specific though. He could probably do 80% of what he needs to do, but not 100% and the things he can’t do are quite important to him.”The problem is around Watson’s right glute, where he was hit by Shane Bond during the fourth ODI in Auckland when he missed an attempted pull. Although Watson played the fifth ODI, the injury worsened during Australia’s training sessions in Wellington this week.”He played the fifth one and batted and that was fine,” Kountouris said. “He could feel it bowling a little bit and batting a little bit. It’s just slowly got sorer and sorer as time has progressed. On our first training session [in Wellington] he found it very difficult to bat and it was quite painful. He’s got a little strain in that area where he got hit on his glute.”Kountouris compared the injury to the elbow problem that Ricky Ponting suffered when he was hit by a Kemar Roach bouncer in December. He said Watson was at risk of aggravating the injury if he worked the area too hard.”It’s a little bit like Ricky’s injury with Roach, where he got hit and afterwards, every time you try to contract that muscle it gets quite painful and you can tear little fibres,” he said. “So he’s got a little muscle strain now as a result of the trauma. Batting is what’s hurting, so we didn’t even test him bowling at this stage. He couldn’t even get through the batting at training, so if he couldn’t do that, then there’s no point pushing him any further.”

ScorecardStuart Broad revived Nottinghamshire’s fortunes with a sensational five-wicket haul•Getty Images

If Stuart Broad’s first day here was a disappointment, the second certainly was not, even though the England allrounder added to a string of low scores when he was dismissed for just one run in Nottinghamshire’s 250 all out.It was what happened next, or at least only a little while later, that illuminated this ground as brilliantly as the spring sunshine.Broad, whose 19 overs on Wednesday had cost 79 runs, even though they brought him three wickets, responded with a performance fired up by the raw hostility on which he thrives, tearing the heart out of Somerset’s batting with five wickets in the space of 27 deliveries.At the fierce height of his spell, the 23-year-old took three in seven, culminating in an extraordinary roughing-up of wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter, who will be a team-mate in England’s World Twenty20 line-up.Broad, who had dismissed Arul Suppiah with a short delivery that the opener could only fend to Andre Adams at third slip, struck twice in two balls to remove James Hildreth and Zander de Bruyn, pinning the former in the crease before Adams held an excellent low catch to snare the de Bruyn.Those wickets came with the last two balls of Broad’s fifth over. When he began his sixth, Kieswetter was the man in the spotlight. He stepped away from Broad’s first hat-trick attempt, apparently distracted by something in his eyeline. When he settled again, he was struck on the pads, although it was clear the ball was drifting to the leg side and Broad cut short his appeal.But then came more of the short stuff and Kieswetter was immediately in trouble, taking a bang on the side of the helmet, behind his left ear, that required play to halt for a few moments with the physio in attendance.He recovered to continue but was clearly unsettled. He swayed backwards as Broad again hit the deck hard, but while he succeeded in getting his head out of the firing line, he was not so lucky with the bat, which deflected the ball into the gloves of Chris Read behind the stumps.With that, Somerset were 33 for 5, their lead a mere 55. More trouble was to follow as Broad claimed his fifth success, Samit Patel at short leg taking a splendid catch, thrusting an arm above his head to catch the ball on the full as Peter Trego went for the pull.At 43 for 6 Nottinghamshire were sensing something extraordinary. Fortunately for Somerset, however, their captain, Marcus Trescothick, escaped the carnage – he was put down on 18 by ex-colleague Neil Edwards at second slip off Adams with his side still reeling at 33 for 6 – and the close-of-play card showed a rather less painful 120 for 6.Trescothick was on 63 and with the help of Damien Wright’s 37 off 31 balls as Broad took his sweater and Nottinghamshire’s bowling not surprisingly lost a little venom, Somerset have reached a position from which they might just leave Nottinghamshire with a tricky last-innings target.Earlier in the day, what had been unfolding as a disappointing Nottinghamshire effort with the bat was rescued by Paul Franks, whose 61 signalled a continuation of what may be a season of rehabilitation for the 31-year-old allrounder.Two down overnight, the home side had seen Mark Wagh and Samit Patel get in only to get out, Wagh losing his off stump to David Stiff before Patel, having seemingly found his timing quickly, fell into a trap set for him by driving a wide ball from Charl Willoughby in the air to short extra.Ali Brown misjudged one from Alfonso Thomas that jagged back, Read was caught in the crease by Trego and Broad, who has not managed to get to 30 in any of his last 18 innings, edged Willoughby to second slip.Hashim Amla showed his class, picking up 11 boundaries before following a ball from Wright to nudge a catch to Kieswetter, but it was Franks, charged with becoming Nottinghamshire’s dependable allrounder now that Mark Ealham has retired, whose 97-ball innings, also containing 11 fours, might yet be the vital one.

The two strongest teams at the World Twenty20 have made the final, but the question remains whether England are good enough to end Australia’s winning run at the last hurdle.Michael Clarke’s side have shown they really can win from any position with batting collapses and monumental chases no barrier to the confidence surging through the line-up. England, though, have plenty of belief of their own after producing their most confident cricket in coloured clothes since 1992.It’s a mouthwatering prospect. Just to add spice to the occasion there has, of course, been mention of the A word. It’s still six months until the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, but such is the hyped nature of that duel that this is already being viewed as the start of the countdown. The captains have slightly differing views.”I don’t think you need any extra motivation. This is a World Cup final, no matter who you’re playing against,” Paul Collingwood said. “This is what it’s all about; this is why we play the game of cricket. This is literally the ultimate. You’ve got through to a World Cup final; you’re playing against the old enemy, Australia. It doesn’t get much better than this.”Clarke added that it wouldn’t compensate for losing the Ashes last year but would set the ball rolling nicely for the next contest. “It won’t make up for it, but it would be a fantastic start to what is going to be a great summer back at home,” he said.”I’m certain every Australian and every English person loves seeing that battle. It’s always tough cricket, in any form of the game. I’m certain tomorrow will be no different. So for now, it’s about focusing on a huge game – a final – against a very good team.”Australia have been here before and are veterans of global finals – although not in this format – whereas for England’s it’s their first since 2004 and then it’s right back to 1992 to find the last time they lined up in the final two. On both occasions they came up short, against West Indies’ tailenders at The Oval and Imran Khan’s inspired Pakistan team at the MCG, to add to the runner’s up medal’s of the 1979 and 1987 World Cups. It’s a thin list.Compare that to Australia’s glittering collection which includes a hat-trick of World Cups and the current Champions Trophy title. Victory in this final will make it a full house back at the Cricket Australia offices in Jolimont. When the pressure moments come the experience of being in those situations could prove vital. Australia have seven players with finals experience, while Collingwood is England’s lone survivor from 2004.”The guys who have taken part in big cricket matches – it doesn’t necessarily have to be a final – have a huge advantage,” Clarke said. “There were probably guys in our squad that were picked not only because they are great Twenty20 players but have experience as well – World Cup experience, big Test match experience. Having a few senior players around will help the youngsters control their emotions.”If any of the England players had watched the second semi-final it would have been a daunting experience to see how Australia managed to win. No other team in the world would have chased down those runs against Pakistan from such a position, but England refuse to be intimidated.”We always knew what Australia were capable of,” Collingwood said. “Whoever we played against in the final were going to be a strong side. Nothing surprised us yesterday. All we can concentrate on is our game. There’s plenty of confidence in our side, the way we’ve played throughout this tournament has given us a lot of belief.”We believe we’ve got the skills to beat any side on the day. Australia have always been a very strong side, and they still are. It bodes well for what should be a very, very good final. I don’t really want to harp on too much about Australia, because we’ve always known what they can do. What I want to harp on about is England. We have surprised a few of ourselves in this tournament – and the guys are very, very positive.”Australia arrived in Barbados still buzzing from their incredible run chase in St Lucia. The emotions were so raw after Michael Hussey hit the winning runs that a 48-hour turnaround before the final could have caused problems about bringing the players back down again. However, rather than blank it out and focus purely on this match Clarke wants his squad to bottle the feeling.”I don’t think I want the guys to forget that,” he said. “I think that memory will stick in my mind for the rest of my career. It’s one of the most amazing games of cricket I’ve been involved in.”I think we need to understand and accept that game’s gone. But just keep in the back of your mind that what we showed the other day could happen out here as well. In our minds, we need to be very confident that we’re never out of the game, we always have a chance.”England, themselves, have reached new heights over the last two weeks but are going to have find an even higher level to stop Australia from claiming cricket’s Grand Slam.