But
for
that
to
realise,
Australia
first
will
have
to
beat
firm
favourites
Pakistan
in
the
second
semifinal
here
on
Thursday.

“After
almost
a
month
of
action,
it
all
comes
down
to
five
days,
four
teams
and
three
matches
at
the
ICC
Men’s
T20
Cricket
World
Cup
2021.
And
I
reckon
this
could
be
Australia’s
year,”
he
wrote
in
a
column
for
the
ICC.

“England
are
the
favourites
from
here
but
I
sense
the
belief
in
the
Australia
camp
and
I
think
there
is
some
real
momentum
there.
Everything
is
clicking
nicely
ahead
of
Thursday’s
semi-final
against
Pakistan.”

Lee
said
he
had
faith
on
Warner’s
ability
to
regain
form
and
had
a
chat
with
him
ahead
of
the
tournament.
“I
was
speaking
to
David
Warner
before
it
started
and
told
him
‘I
have
you
down
to
be
Australia’s
leading
run-scorer,
so
don’t
let
me
down!’ I
did
that
on
the
belief
that
he
is
a
big-match
player,
a
big
tournament
player
and
that
has
not
changed.

“Aaron
Finch
has
found
some
form,
Mitchell
Marsh
is
hitting
the
ball
well
and
Glenn
Maxwell
will
come
good.”
In
the
run-up
to
the
World
Cup,
Australia
had
lost
five
straight
series,
suffering
defeats
against
Bangladesh,
West
Indies,
New
Zealand,
India
and
England.
Lee
feels
coming
into
the
tournament
on
a
low
has
helped
Australia
immensely.

“They
have
been
underdogs
in
this
tournament
and
going
under
the
radar
has
really
helped
them.
When
you
go
in
as
one
of
the
favourites
like
England,
with
their
history
and
success,
it
breeds
confidence
but
also
expectations.

“If
England
don’t
beat
New
Zealand
and
make
the
final,
people
will
be
asking
questions,
just
like
India,
who
started
slowly
and
didn’t
peak
at
the
right
time.”

The
45-year-old
former
tear-away
pacer
feels
the
four
semifinalists
rightfully
deserved
their
places
in
the
business
end
of
the
tournament.
“I
think
we
have
the
right
four
teams
in
the
semi-finals
and
it’s
interesting
to
note
that
only
one
of
them
is
from
the
sub-continent.
We
thought
the
conditions
would
favour
the
likes
of
India,
Sri
Lanka,
Bangladesh
and
Afghanistan
but
it
just
didn’t
happen
for
them,”
Lee
said.

He
observed
that
the
unlikely
success
story
for
Australia
in
the
tournament
so
far
was
the
way
how
the
batters
handled
spinners.
“A
key
reason
for
Australia’s
success
is
how
they
have
utilised
spin.
With
the
bat,
we
have
some
great
players
of
spin
and
they
have
shown
that
in
this
tournament,
but
the
big
weapon
is
Adam
Zampa,”
Lee
wrote.

“His
form
spinning
the
ball
has
been
key
and
Australia
have
embraced
a
different
T20
style
with
him.
Before,
the
method
was
always
to
try
to
score
170-odd
and
then
try
and
blow
teams
away
with
the
quicks.
But
they
know
they
can’t
do
that
in
the
UAE
and
introducing
a
bigger
spin
element
has
helped
massively.”

Lee
advised
Australian
players
just
to
enjoy
the
moment.
“The
advice
I
would
give
is
to
enjoy
it.
Enjoy
how
far
you
have
come.
Focus
on
the
strengths,
and
the
strengths
for
all
four
teams
are
they
have
done
the
basics
far
better
than
most
other
teams.
T20
cricket
is
about
match-winners,
big
runs
and
big
totals.
But
it
is
also
about
the
one
per-cent
moments,”
he
said.

“Australia
are
experienced
in
these
situations.
Some
of
these
boys
won
the
ICC
Men’s
Cricket
World
Cup
2015
and
then
reached
the
semi-finals
four
years
later
and
that
counts
for
so
much
in
those
pressure
situations
at
the
death.

“If
you
have
been
there
and
done
it,
whether
you
have
won
or
lost,
you
will
have
learnt
from
that
experience
and
playing
under
that
pressure.”