T20 World Cup final: Do Australia have psychological advantage over England?

Former England fast bowler Catherine Syver-Brunt will watch at Lord’s as his wife Nat tries to lead her country to glory.

Although he was a nervous observer – often unable to watch games through nerves during his work on BBC Test Match Specials – as a player, he was fiercely competitive and no team fired his passion more than the Aussies.

“For me, I saw it as the biggest fight,” Sciver-Brunt told BBC Sport, when asked how he approached the mental battle of the game against Australia.

“When you play Australia, because they are so good, it brings out an animal in me because I had to go there. They bring out the best in you.

“But at the same time, they can beat you before you start and I think that’s what happened with the West Indies (in the semi-final) – Australia can get into your head before you even step on the field and you can’t let that happen.”

England have faced Australia twice since the ill-fated Ashes – a six-wicket defeat at the World Cup in October and a five-wicket loss in a warm-up match before the start of this tournament.

Despite that record, Syver-Brant doesn’t think England will dwell on the past.

“As a recent ex-player, it’s really hard for me to shut down my feelings when it comes to England versus Australia,” Syver-Brant said with a laugh.

“I know they absolutely screamed at us and as a player, I’ll be the one to hold on to that.

“But my head didn’t go there (in the Ashes) and I honestly don’t think it’s in them either. What you see from England is very different now and it happened very quickly.

“They’re riding this wave of a fresh start and a fresh start and they’ve got all the confidence and belief that you need to win something big.”

At Lord’s, however, the stakes are much higher and this is an England team that has been accused of being unable to handle such occasions in the past.

That’s where a legend of the game steps in to steer the ship…