Barbados: Two teams which are the traditional rivals in the longest format of the game, Australia and England, have both reached the semi-finals of this year’s World T20 and if they continue the form that they have displayed in the opening rounds of the tournament, then a “Ashes” final wouldn’t be a distinct possibility.

Both England and Australia initially struggled to adjust to the shortest format of the game, with players from both countries conceding that they were not taking the T20 format too seriously.

But a change in attitude of both teams is evident from their performances this year as they are the only two teams to have won both their Super Eight games so far and are virtually assured of a place in the semi-finals.

“With the strength of our squad, we believe whatever position we get into we can win,” Australia skipper Michael Clarke said after his team recovered from 67 for five to win by a huge 81 runs against Sri Lanka in Group F on Sunday. “We want to win this tournament, we haven’t performed as well as we’d like in the first two Twenty20s and we are here to be successful.”

“We’ve all been working really hard together. We can take a lot of confidence but there is a long way to go and in conditions that probably won’t suit our fast bowlers quite as well,” he said, referring to the slower surface in St. Lucia where Australia take on hosts West Indies on Tuesday.

The biggest advantage for Australia has been that they haven’t been dependent on any one individual. Each player knows his role in the team and has stood up when needed. Australia’s opening batsmen, Shane Watson and Dave Warner, have got them off to flying starts in the tournament but even when they failed against Sri Lanka on Sunday, middle order batsmen Cameron White, who hit an unbeaten 85, answered the call.

“When someone misses out, someone stands up. In all facets of our game we are playing pretty well. St. Lucia will throw up different conditions for us. We need to adapt and win,” said White.

England, on the other hand, have been the surprise package of the tournament. Despite inventing the popular new format, England looked clueless in the earliest days of international Twenty20 and tried 15 different opening partnerships prior to this tournament.

But this time they have brought a specialist team, with plenty of big-hitting players and bowlers well suited to the specific demands of bowling against ultra-attacking batsmen.

“We are playing the exact brand of cricket we set out to, as aggressive as possible with the bat and then to create as much pressure as possible with the spinners,” said off-spinner Graeme Swann. “I genuinely think, for the first time looking at an England team, we can actually win this. It’s not all hot air and bluster.”

England’s dressing room is arguably the most eclectic collection of accents, with a trio of South African-born batsmen — Michael Lumb, Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen backed up by talented Irish Twenty20 specialist Eoin Morgan.

Pietersen, who smashed a magnificent 53 against the country of his birth on Saturday, says that the shortest format of the game is no longer simply entertainment for those who crave ‘party cricket’.

“The more you play, the better you get. Twenty20 cricket is serious business now,” he said.

Well, an “Ashes Final” at the Kensington Oval on May 16 would certainly be some serious cricket!

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