dismissal by Glenn Maxwell.
“You like it when a plan comes together don’t you, especially so early in the game and it sets the tone,” Lehmann said. “It was interesting once that happened they went into their shells a bit New Zealand, which was surprising, so allowed us to control the game. James Faulkner... when they just looked like they were getting into the game he came through with that spell in the Powerplay.”
Running his eye over Australia’s West Indies and Ashes squads, Lehmann said he was looking forward to seeing the wrist spinner Fawad Ahmed acquitted himself, selected ahead of Adam Zampa and Cameron Boyce for reasons of experience - ditto Adam Voges ahead of Joe Burns.
“He gives us that added variation you might need in the West Indies and England, with the off spinner in Lyon and the bloke who takes it away in the leg spinner who we rate highly,” Lehmann said. “We went with experience more than anything else, someone who’s been around for a bit. Adam Zampa and Cameron Boyce in Queensland we felt just fell away a bit towards the back end of the season with their bowling.”
Lehmann and the team staff will now enjoy a brief holiday before reconvening in Brisbane to prepare for the dual tours of the West Indies and England, in contrast to Lehmann’s entry into the Australian job on the day the 2013 Ashes tour began, in place of Mickey Arthur.
“The preparation [for the 2013 Ashes] wasn’t quite there as I would have liked, I got thrown into it just before they all met up,” Lehmann said. “We’ve got a lot more planning to do this time, which is nice, and I think we’ve got a great mix in that squad.
“We meet up in mid-May for the West Indies tour so looking forward to that. You move on pretty quickly, you enjoy what it is and what it was, a pretty special seven weeks in all our lives, the fifth time Australia won the World Cup, but you also have an eye to the future to work out what you’ve got to do to get moving again.”