Australia’s campaign in the T20 Cup 2007 did not start so well. That season, they lost to weak Zimbabwe by five wickets. Despite losing two more group matches, they managed to enter the semi-finals. However, the team captained by Adam Gilchrist lost to champions India by 15 runs. Opener Matthew Hayden was the top scorer of the tournament with 265 runs, while right-arm fast bowler Stuart Clark was the second highest wicket taker with 12 wickets.
Australia had a very bad start in this T20 World Cup as well. They first lost to West Indies by seven wickets. Ricky Ponting and company suffered another defeat against Sri Lanka, which resulted in their early exit from the tournament. Opener David Warner was the top scorer for the team with 63 runs. Right-arm fast bowler Brett Lee topped the wicket-takers list with 3 wickets.
T20 World Cup 2010, West Indies
After a forgettable performance in the 2009 World Cup, Australia returned as a strong team in the subsequent edition and played their first final. Australia, led by Michael Clarke, started their campaign with a stunning 34-run win over Pakistan. They went on to win five more games in a row, including the semi-final.
However, their dreams of winning the T20 World Cup were shattered again with a seven-wicket loss to England in the finalMike Hussey was the leading run-scorer for Australia with 188 runs, while Dirk Nannes finished as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets.
T20 World Cup 2012, Sri Lanka
Australia performed well in the T20 World Cup, but their quest for the trophy is still not over. This time the team is led by George Bailey and they started with a seven-wicket win over Ireland. Despite losing to Pakistan twice (once in the group stage and the other in the Super 8s), they managed to enter the semi-finals.
However, they were knocked out of the tournament by the eventual winners, the West Indies, by a heavy 74 runs. Despite Australia not reaching the final, all-rounder Shane Watson was named Player of the Series for scoring the most runs (249) and taking the most wickets (11) in the tournament.
T20 World Cup 2014, Bangladesh
Australia had a disastrous campaign in the 2014 World Cup, winning only one match and failing to qualify for the knockout stage. Their only win came against Bangladesh, where they won by 7 wickets. Opener Aaron Finch was the team’s top scorer with 158 runs while left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc was the highest wicket-taker with five wickets.
T20 World Cup 2016, India
Once again Australia failed to qualify for the semi-final round as they lost two matches in the Super 10. Their campaign began with an eight-run defeat to New Zealand. Steve Smith and Co bounced back with two consecutive wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan, but India knocked them out of the tournament with a six-wicket win. James Faulkner was the highest wicket-taker with the ball, taking eight wickets, while Usman Khawaja was the highest run-scorer with 143 runs.
T20 World Cup 2021, India/UAE
After years of waiting, the Australian team finally managed to lift the T20 World Cup trophy. Under the captaincy of Aaron Finch, the Kangaroos defeated New Zealand by eight wickets in the final. The Australian bowlers restricted the Kiwi team to 172 runs in the final and achieved the target in 18.5 overs.
All-rounder Mitchell Marsh won the Player of the Match for his brilliant innings of 77* off 50 balls. David Warner, the second-highest run-scorer with 289 runs, won the Player of the Series award. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa became the second-highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets.
T20 World Cup 2022, Australia
With the eighth edition of the T20 World Cup being held on Australian soil, the hosts came in with the aim of defending the title. The defending champions started the campaign with a big 89-run defeat against New Zealand. Australia had one of their matches abandoned and that proved to be very costly as they failed to overtake the Black Caps and England in terms of net run rate to qualify for the semi-finals. For them, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis top-scored with 126 runs, while Josh Hazlewood’s 5 wickets are the most by an Australian bowler.
Australia’s squad for T20 World Cup
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Traveling Reserve: Jack Fraser McGurk, Matthew Short