A legacy moment awaits as Australia chases its final ICC trophy

Nick Hockley has described the next 18 months as a defining legacy for Australian cricket as the country puts itself on the brink of owning all five ICC trophies.

Australia begins its T20 World Cup campaign against Oman in Barbados on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), as part of a long road to the final of the tournament.

The 2021 champions will then take on defending champions England before further group matches against Namibia and Scotland before the Super Eight stage.

Legacy has become a buzzword in Australian cricket in recent years, with an aging playing group and questions about where they will be ranked in history.

But a rare opportunity presents itself during this month’s tournament.

Australia already holds the women’s ODI and T20 World Cup trophies, while the men won the World Test Club Championship and the ODI World Cup last year.

That leaves the men’s T20 trophy as the only world title not held by Australia’s senior teams.

No country has held all five simultaneously, even when assessed in the year-end Test rankings ahead of the introduction of the Test Championship in 2021.

“It’s quite unprecedented,” Cricket Australia CEO Hockley told AAP. “It’s a testament to the strength of the entire system. From route, states and territories to the quality of domestic competitions.

“And then more directly the player leaders, coaches, selectors. We really have regular groups in both the women’s and men’s programs.

‘You must also add that you must keep the ashes away from both women and men. The other one is also the Commonwealth Games.”

For Hockley, the test of Australia’s standing in world cricket goes beyond this month’s men’s tournament in the Caribbean.

The Australian women will defend their T20 World Cup crown on the turning wickets of Bangladesh in October, where India are expected to loom as a significant threat.

Both sides also have Ashes series at home against the rejuvenated England squad over the next 18 months, while the men will look to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy this summer.

“I think that puts them among the best (by as much as 18 months). This has been a very, very successful era,” Hockley said. “It would be extremely difficult for anyone to retain all the trophies, including the World Test Championship.

“There are some really meaningful opportunities coming up for both parties. Especially now that India is set to win for the third time in the Test series on Australian soil.

“Between this World Cup, next summer and the return of the Ashes, I think they have a chance to be one of the greats.”

The Australian players are not too interested in talking about legacies as the men largely put the discussion aside after last year’s Ashes.

But they are well aware of what is at stake in a tournament that also looms as David Warner’s last in international cricket.

“That discussion will come after these tournaments,” opener Travis Head said of legacies. “It’s not something we talk about. Looking back at the ODI World Cup, the sights were set on the next match.

“It wasn’t until we won the award that everyone thought: wow, we’ve done something really special.

“The makeup is there (to win it). Let’s see where we get. It would be a huge achievement if we could do that.”

The Australian men were surprise winners of the ODI World Cup last year, but this event brings even more of the unknown.

While Australia and England will almost certainly drop out of Group A, a number of teams are emerging as real contenders.

Pakistan and New Zealand are expected to join Australia in their Super Eight stage on pre-determined seedings, along with Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.

India, England and South Africa then loom as threats at the other end of the draw, while hosts West Indies are always a wildcard.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024

Australian selection: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Match schedule for Group B in Australia

June the 6th: v Oman, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 10:30am AEST

June 9: v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 3pm AEST

12 June: v Namibia, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10:30am AEST

June 16: v Scotland, Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, 10.30am AEST

Super Eights, finals to follow if Australia qualifies

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