Daniel Brigham: Australia’s aura has been found
January 29th, 2010 by Daniel Brigham in International, One-day cricket, middlesex
The death of Australia’s Test-match aura was talked about so much during the Ashes that I was waiting for Ricky Ponting to take the field in a black armband. Yet it didn’t die, for I have found it: it wasn’t down the back of the sofa next to Monty Panesar’s form, South Africa and India hadn’t stolen it and John Terry’s mum denied she had anything to do with its disappearance.
Instead, the Aussies have simply handed it over to their one-day team, who have just gone 4-0 up at home to Pakistan. It continues an astonishing sequence since they lost the Ashes: Played 23 ODIs, won 19, lost three. Six of those wins have been by over 40 runs and seven by five wickets or more.
Compare that to the number of wins in the last 23 matches for the other top sides: South Africa 13, Sri Lanka 12, India 11, New Zealand 10, England 10, Pakistan 7, West Indies 4.
Australia’s dominance has been total, with a 7-1 win in England, victory in the Champions Trophy, a highly impressive 4-2 win in India and now they’re one game away from a clean-sweep against Pakistan. That’s not any old aura, that’s a Mega Aura. Or, why not invent a new word: a Megaura.
They are threatening to become one of the greatest one-day sides, and yet the core of their team includes Ryan Harris, Sean Marsh, Cameron White, James Hopes, Clint McKay, Adam Voges and Moises Henriques. Just how have they done it?
The above players, unlikely to become all-time greats, have enough talent to cope with international cricket. More than that, they’ve seen a rare opportunity to break into the international side and, being Australian, they’re certainly not shirking from taking the opportunity. Hence they are all playing out of their slip-slop-slapped skins.
Give it 12 or 18 months and several of those players, having become experts in winning at international level, will be in the Test team and bringing the aura back with them.
Depressing, isn’t it.
Daniel Brigham is assistant editor of The Wisden Cricketer
Follow him on twitter: WisdenCric_Dan
Posted in International, One-day cricket, middlesex | 4 Comments »
January 29th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
I can’t work out who the attack is going to be from one game to the next, but they all seem to do a job just now. It is the most unsettled team around but for some reason, they are still winning.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
It is probably the believe in themselves and willing to put fight. They also had a sense of a chance to make it big as this time there are more chances for new guys to come and settle down in team like Watson did this summer.
Also they are little bit lucky that opposite they face are out of confidence, application and any fight this turn to be a most easiest summer after golden days for Aussies.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
You’re right, it’s been found. The Aus U19 team have it.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:47 am
Moises Henriques has only played 2 ODI’s, so he is hardly part of the core of the team. A few of the others you mention have not played many matches either, bit I will give you the benefit of the doubt on those as none of us can remember who has played when (and should we really be expected to is another question).
Anyway, leaving all that aside, Australia is still the toughest cricket team in the world. Why that comes as a surprise to anyone is a shock to me. If you wanted a team guaranteed to put up a fight under any circumstances, Australia have been that team for the last 20 years and still are. Sure they have lost Test series to SA at home, India away and England away recently, but they were all closely fought contests. They then went on to beat SA in SA, when was the last time England won in Australia, and India have never won in Australia. Who wins all the ODI World Cups.
And I can tell you I play a very low grade of cricket in Australia but it is played hard and with passion.
Other sides may fancy themselves, but they have it all to prove.