Whither Australia ?

What happened to Australia? England crushed them with a series win. That too the Fifth Test margin was more than an innings.

There are many comments by Aussie experts about the Kangaroo defeat. Veteran analyst Peter Roebuck wrote on the front page of The Sydney Morning Herald, “Despair has descended upon Australian cricket. Embarrassment has become an acquaintance.”

“Humiliation has introduced itself. Calamity has piled upon calamity.”

This comment was highlighted on the back page- “After 135 years, 730 matches and 417 players Australia have finally fielded Our Worst XI.”

The Melbourne—based The Age cloumnist Greg Baum, said Australia’s defeats have been “as feeble and as abject as can be imagined. The cricket community has a right to be angry. Heads must roll.”

Stuart Clark was of the opinion that the Australian attack needed more variety, and called for a tall paceman to be fast—tracked at the top level. While Neil Harvey said Australia had to bite the bullet, Boycoot blamed selectors for chopping and changing the team.

We exhort all to become philosophical. There is a day to win and a day to lose. No team can be at the top all the time. It is cyclical and the socalled experts are simply trying to find scapegoats when a team loses.

Look at India. A few years back, India was one of the worst Test sides in the world. I remember, in the 1970s, India was nowhere. India had no seamers then and wicket keeper Kundaram used to open the new ball for India ! Now look at India. The No 1 Test side in the world under the iron willed Dhoni ! It is not that the old India of 1970 did not have the talent. They simply didnt have the will power of the present Indian team !

In the other Test, India had to make a near impossible 340 runs to win and the dogged Indian batsmen just stood like the Rock of Gibralter and drew the series ! The Indian bowlers let a great opportunity go and so did the South African seamers !

In the First Test at Hamilton, NZ are 260/7, with McCullum scoring 56, Southee 56 no and Guptill 50.