The curious case of awesome Aussies
The recently concluded second Test at Sydney between Australia and Pakistan has brought an interesting fact out of the woods — Australian cricket is certainly not in the decline. Agreed, they lost the Ashes in 2009 but if you look at the battles that were fought, barring the odd Test at Lord’s, Australia fought tooth and nail in every game, a trait that has been passed on from one generation to another.
Australia may not boast of genuine match-winners in the form of Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and with Ricky Ponting not scoring at Bradmanesque pace at the moment, the current team looked more vulnerable than it ever was. But one look at the performances in myriad formats of the game in the last six months tells a different story.
A comprehensive (read carnage!) win over familiar foes England in the seven match ODI series in England was followed by victories at the Champions Trophy and a 4-2 win against the Men in Blue in India.
Ponting’s men faced stiff challenge at Sydney when they were skittled out for a paltry 127 but bounced back to show the world that this team still had what it takes to reach the shore safely.
There are few things which Australians do which no other team does and they are not groundbreaking but important things that a cricket team needs to. For starters, they fight it out till the very end and put a price on every wicket.
Also, Australian cricket is built on strong foundation that does not negotiate on work ethics and the cricketers come through the ranks following a robust system that makes battle-ready while players at the highest level in other cricket-playing nations are seen adjusting technical flaws (Read players from the sub-continent).
When the aforementioned processes have been followed for decades together, the decline in the overall standards of cricket can never be dramatic. Agreed, Australia no more wins Tests in three days but they still have the arsenal to give the best a run for their money. Another clincher for the Australians stems from the fact that on numerous occasions both in the past and in the present, teams have gone ahead of the Aussies in a session or two but the team from Down Under have bounced back. The reason being, teams have still not learnt how to sustain the pressure they created on the Australians, a good example being the Sydney Test when the Pakistanis discovered much to their own dismay.
All traits of a great Australian revival are in place and for those who still doubt the supremacy, will do so at their own cost.
