Home

History of Australia's T20 Cup efforts

Oliver CaffreyAAP
Coach Justin Langer and skipper Aaron Finch are trying to win Australia's first T20 World Cup.
Camera IconCoach Justin Langer and skipper Aaron Finch are trying to win Australia's first T20 World Cup. Credit: AP

AUSTRALIA'S RECORD IN PREVIOUS TWENTY20 WORLD CUPS

* 2007

The inaugural World Twenty20 could not have started any worse for Australia. Just six months after being crowned 50-over world champions for the third consecutive time, Australia were upset by lowly Zimbabwe in their first group game. They did enough to recover and make the semi-finals, highlighted by Brett Lee claiming the first T20 international hat-trick, but a Yuvraj Singh masterclass blasted the Aussies out, paving the way for India to win the first title.

* 2009

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

A short-lived stay in England for the second edition. Australia were thrashed to open the tournament, as Chris Gayle secured a West Indies victory with more than four overs to spare. It did not get much better against Sri Lanka, as Mitchell Johnson top-scored in a below-par effort batting first. Australia finished winless on the bottom of their group.

* 2010

The Game AFL 2024

Australia got their act together in the West Indies a year after their embarrassing exit in the UK. Captained by Michael Clarke, Australia were barely threatened as they powered through to the last-four undefeated. They look dead and buried against Pakistan in the semi-finals, before Michael Hussey's classic 60 from 24 balls secured a memorable win to send Australia into the decider. But more top-order failures in the final saw them comfortably beaten by England. It remains Australia's only appearance in a T20 World Cup final.

* 2012

This tournament started off so well for Australia, with powerful allrounder Shane Watson in rare form opening the batting to take out four-straight player-of-the-match awards. But Gayle again spoilt the party, smashing the West Indies to a big semi-final win and knocking the Australians out.

* 2014

A disappointing output in Bangladesh. Under the guidance of captain George Bailey, Australia lost their first three games, including a 73-run belting at the hands of India. They finished with a comfortable victory over the hosts, but it was not enough to make it out of the group stage.

* 2016

Another early exit. Wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan were cancelled out with defeats to New Zealand and India. Australia were not disgraced but it was ultimately another disappointing campaign.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails