Some interesting points made above. Firstly, I think it's true that it is decided before the final - well it certainly used to be. The fact that they presented Klusener with the award on the Lords balcony in 99 means they must have asked him to be there to receive it, meaning Warne's MOTM in the final meant nothing. Similarly, Tendulkar's failure in the 2003 final probably meant very little. They probably had it picked already. Which makes me wonder... if Shakib is indeed the recipient (or anyone who isn't in the final), do they need to be present at Lords on the day of the final to receive it?
Again Starc failed to make an impression early in the game last night. I thought Bumrah was outstanding. In fact, I would say that Bumrah's 17 wickets have been more impressive than Starc's 26. Bumrah has bowled some incredible opening spells. As an Australian fan, I would love to see Starc do some damage in his first spell. We have the same problem in tests - he just doesn't get the top order batsmen often enough, and I think that will hurt us in the Ashes.
I have Warner ahead of Starc personally, but the media do seem to be obsessed with Starc's yorkers, even if they come in the 49th over with 320 on the board.
Rohit has seriously closed the gap on Shakib now. I'd love to see Shakib get it, but with Starc and Rohit breaking records and being part of successful teams, I think they will choose one of those guys.