Cricket's oldest battle resumes in newest format

Regardless of whether England emerge triumphant against Australia, the form team of the tournament, they have turned a corner in terms of public perception. In many ways, the tale of their shortcomings in ICC global events is less a matter of their failure to take home any trophies, but their failure to give themselves a chance to compete. On two occasions in the modern era of one-day cricket, they've found a formula that came close to ending the drought - namely, at the 1992 World Cup, when their greatest player, the ageing Ian Botham, was arguably their weakest link, and in the 2004 Champions Trophy, when Michael Vaughan's men were already building towards the following summer's Ashes.

In almost every other tournament of note they have been little short of a rabble, and that includes their previous forays in the World Twenty20, in South Africa in 2007, when they opened the batting with the bits-and-pieces Darren Maddy, and in 2009, when the Netherlands (including a certain Dirk Nannes) stunned them in the tournament curtain-raiser. At the third time of asking, however, England have hit upon a formula that deserves to succeed precisely because it doesn't see success as a birthright. Every player from 1 to 11 is up for a scrap, and against an Australian side that doesn't know when it's beaten, a scrap is precisely what they can expect.

It has taken the Australians five years to shed the view that Twenty20 is a format for fun. However, Michael Clarke's team is playing the game in the same serious, clinical and tunnel-visioned manner that has been so successful for them in Tests and ODIs over the past decade. Under Clarke's captaincy the side's worst result in 14 matches is the tie against New Zealand in February, which turned into a Super Over defeat.

Since then they have won six matches in a row, including the breath-taking semi-final triumph over Pakistan, in a record that is more suited to Ricky Ponting's all-conquering outfits in 50-over World Cups. Not only are they well balanced, with frightening bowlers and muscular batsmen, but they now expect to win everything. And the only thing that can motivate them more than capturing a trophy they have never held is to beat England in doing it.