World Cup 2023: Australia coach reveals team meeting which turned things around after two consecutive losses

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald recently revealed how a team meeting turned things around for Pat Cummins & Co. in their glorious run in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. In the mega event, the Men in Yellow started off on a poor note, losing their opening two games. However, the Aussies turned things around from there on and embarked on a eight-match winning streak to enter the final, where they beat India by six wickets in Ahmedabad on November 19.

McDonaldrevealed that after their loss to South Africa by 134 runs, in Lucknowin their second game, the team got together for a meeting to reinforce the idea that they were on the right track despite unfavourable results.

On the SEN Whateley podcast, McDonald said, "There was a get-together post-game (after the South Africa loss). But once again, that was really just to reinforce that we were on the right path. It was about, ‘Let's stick to it and believe in what we've set out to achieve’, and that it will come to fruition eventually, albeit it didn't in the first couple of games."

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He stated, "It was really doubling down. I think we've had moments like that when we were 0-2 in India in the Test series as well and you bring the group together and it's really just reiterating what you set out in the first place."

McDonald further added, “If you start to pivot at that point in time, I think that can create panic within a group. It also means that potentially your planning has been well off and at 0-2 in a nine-match World Cup andit’s not the time to start throwing the baby out with the bath water. It was just a time to say, ‘Ok, let's get moving’."

After the loss to India, in their tournament-opener, and South Africa, Australia roared back to beat Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Netherlands, New Zealand, England, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, respectively,to enter the semi-finals where they edged past South Africa and eventually beat hosts India in the summit clash. There were many top-performers for Australia in the form of captain Cummins (15 wickets), Travis Head (who slammed a match-winning 137 in the final), David Warner (535 runs), Adam Zampa (23 scalps) Mitchell Starc andJosh Hazlewood (16 victims apiece), Glenn Maxwell (onehundred and adouble ton), Mitchell Marsh (441 runs),etc.

Australia,thus, ended uplifting their sixth ODI WC title, most by any in men's cricket.