England fans: Set aside Ashes rivalry and cheer for Australia against India in World Cup final

The World Cup final will be shown on Channel 5 on Sunday, giving the game a wider audience to tackle with the problem of which team to support.

Setting aside Ashes rivalry to cheer on a bunch that indulged in its own cut-throat behaviour in the Jonny Bairstow stumping, view sledging as natural as putting butter on toast, and pack sandpaper in their cricket coffin is a gut-wrencher for most England followers.

But there are reasons to give Australia your backing on Sunday and it has nothing to do with India’s fabulous cricket team.

The way in which this tournament has been skewed in favour of the home side is enough to tip most neutrals into the Australia camp.

Home advantage is natural in bilateral series and overcoming it is part of the beauty and challenge of touring overseas.

Global tournaments are supposed to be different and run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council with a level playing field for everyone, albeit with the conditions naturally suiting the strengths of the home team. The last three World Cups have been won by the hosts for a reason.

This time it has tipped too far. The shenanigans over the pitch in Mumbai reflected badly on the BCCI and highlighted how powerless the ICC has become when India are the hosts.

The fact it was a good pitch in Mumbai is not the argument. It is about power and influence and who holds it. It is also a moral issue of whether the home board should be able to pick and choose which surfaces its team plays on in such-high profile matches at global tournaments.

England were furious for most of the 2019 World Cup because the pitches were low and slow or seamed when they had been used to playing on flat belters for the previous four years. The pitch for the Lord’s final was a disgrace, but produced one of the greatest games of all time so nobody remembers it. England had no influence over the pitches, the players were told they were in the hands of the ICC. The ECB lacked the clout that India carries and rightly had no say in cricket matters.

The fixtures have helped too, playing Netherlands in the last group game was an insurance card if net run rate was needed, Pakistan had to step in the cauldron of the Modi Stadium and were overawed and India’s semi was always going to be at their stronghold, the Wankhede Stadium, regardless of where they finished in the group unless they played Pakistan, it being too politically sensitive for them to play in Mumbai since the 2008 terror attacks.

Australia are braced for yet more goings on before Sunday’s final. Like New Zealand, they have to put it out of their heads or they will be beaten before stepping on the field.

It is a shame because this is a wonderful India team. They are far and away the best side in the tournament. If they play to their potential they will win on Sunday even if the pitch is shipped in from the WACA.

There are no weak links in their XI and it is just a question of whether they can handle the pressure. They started flapping during the Kane Williamson-Daryl Mitchell stand in the semi-final before the genius of Mohammed Shami settled nerves.

Winning will be a crowning moment for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli regardless of their past achievements. An India victory will also be an unmissable opportunity for the ruling party, the BJP, ahead of next year’s elections. The Modi Stadium has hosted all the plum matches: the opening game between England and New Zealand, India v Pakistan, England v Australia and now the final. His name has been front and centre.

World Cup triumph would be a crowning moment for Virat Kohli – Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Ahmedabad is a city on the rise thanks to Narendra Modi’s influence. It is the seat of power for the prime minister and its roads and infrastructure have benefited from that enormously. What money cannot buy is the cricketing heritage of Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai, one of which should be hosting the final.

Those cities can cope with the influx of visitors a World Cup final brings, Ahmedabad is bursting at the seams. One five star hotel is charging £2,300 per night over this weekend. Four-star places are reportedly going for £1,000 such is the scarcity of rooms. Sunday though is about India showcasing its gigantic stadium and the political advantages that will flow if India beat Australia.

It is a huge challenge for Australia, regardless of their World Cup pedigree. The way Australia struggled when the ball turned in Kolkata is not encouraging for them. An unchanged XI is almost certain barring injury which means if India bat first and put a big score on the board, Australia need Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to get a move on and not leave Glenn Maxwell too much to do.

In Warner, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh they think they have enough firepower in the top three to counterbalance the two ball chewers at four and five, but India just keep going all the way down to the bowlers. Rohit has the best strike rate of any of the top-10 run scorers in the competition, and his selfless attack in the powerplay has allowed Kohli to dominate later.

Rohit has a strong record against Australia’s match-winning quicks. Mitchell Starc has dismissed him only three times in 13 ODIs, Pat Cummins twice in 17 and Josh Hazlewood once in five. That Hazlewood dismissal came in India’s World Cup opener – lbw second ball for nought – when India slumped to two for three and would have been 20 for four had Marsh not dropped Kohli on 12. That remains India’s closest shave of the World Cup.

The two best sides compete in the final and it could be a classic.

For England fans looking for straws there is hope. Leeds born Josh Inglis played well in the semi-final and keeps for Australia, and the two umpires, Richard Kettlebrough and Richard Illingworth, are both English. Not all hope is lost.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.