Australian legend Mark Taylor has reacted to the side’s early exit from the T20 World Cup, with the international career of David Warner coming to a bitter end.
After a dramatic clash between Afghanistan and Bangladesh went down to the wire, the Aussies were eliminated after winning just one game in the Super Eight stage.
A shock loss to Afghanistan was compounded on Tuesday morning (AEST) when the green and gold outfit fell to India, leaving their semi-final fate up to Bangladesh.
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Despite a gallant effort from the Tigers, they couldn’t get over the line in a rain-affected clash with Australia to now pack their bags and head home from the tournament.
Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Taylor conceded the nature of the game’s shortest format hurt the Aussies, who had been clinical throughout the group stage.
“I think the Aussies have been pretty good, to be totally honest,” he said.
“I’ve always said with T20 cricket, more than any other format, it is very much on the day and we’ve seen that with Australia, who waltzed through the first stage. You only need one or two bad performances and you’re in trouble and that’s what happened.
“The only bad performance we had was against Afghanistan and that’s the game we needed to win. Even though we’d won four in a row, that meant nothing.
“We needed to beat Afghanistan and on the day we weren’t good enough.”
The premature departure from the World Cup will see Warner bow out in abrupt fashion, with the opener retiring from all three formats of the international game.
The 37-year-old had a mixed campaign in the West Indies and United States, but according to Taylor, he can hold his head high after a remarkable career.
”He will be disappointed,” Taylor said.
“I’m sure David, along with the Australian side, will be very disappointed that they didn’t get through until at least the semi-final stage. That’s life, particularly in T20 cricket.
“David has a very good record across all three formats of the game, which is not easy to do. That is not easy to do in today’s environment, playing all three formats and playing them well. His legacy is that you can do it, you can play all three formats.
“I’m sure he will be disappointed, but he will also reflect on a really good career.”