Aussie Rock

England beat Australia in the second test match last Sunday.

You cannot but praise the Aussies for bringing the match to that stage. How many teams in the world would have actually even bothered to think of a win with just 2 wickets in hands and more than 100 runs required for a win? Surely not India.Neither of the other test playing nations would have come close of that chase.

Whatever ! England's win has opened the Ashes wide open. More importantly it has brought a new lease of life to cricket whose fans all over the world had become habitual to mundane Australian victory over England and thus were becoming dis-interested in England-Australia series. England's victory this Sunday has opened the flood gates of interest for cricket lovers all over.

As the gutsy Australian opener Justin Langer wrote in his column in BBC.com...

[..] in the bigger scheme of things it is one of the best things that has happened in
international cricket for a long time[..]

No kidding. It takes a lot of self-confidence to say so, Justin !

As a cricket lover i have seen the Australia rise from 'ashes' (literally). I guess it was Bob Simpson and Alan border who built that formidable Australian side of 1987 which went on to win the Reliance World Cup in India. Thereafter there was no looking back. There was off course a minor dip in Australia's fortunes when Australia failed to reach even the last four of 1992 world , which incidently was played in Australia. Barring that brief period Australia never looked easily beatable. I guess except for South Africa under Hansie Cronje, none of the teams really stood up to Australia's professionalism on the field. There mental toughness has been un-matched ever since.

It takes a lot of foresight and planning to build such a temparament and attitude. Bob Simpson almost redefined the way one-day cricket was played. He gave a lot of weightage to fielding and physical fitness and discipline.No wonder teams like Windies,Pak and India who depended largely on just the batting and bowling skills of their players started looking increasingly inadequate .

The Australians ooze a silent confidence with their body language. Aggression is their second name. They play hard. But all this was not procured overnight. They actually build this step by step.
Remember the tied match at Chennai when Ravi Shastri almost gave us victory. That word "ALMOST" has been our bane. The same word was applicable when we "ALMOST" beat Australia in 1992 world cup; when Steve Waugh even after dropping a catch of last ball had the cools to make an accurate throw at the keeper and run the sloppy lazy out.

But to be fair to India, we have given Australia a run for their money from time to time. Whether the famous VVS Laxman series where he turned around a lost match into a win or when Tendulkar bull dozed Wagh's team out of Sharjah.

Neverthless the Aussies have seldom failed to live upto their reputation. They have the last two world cups in their pockets and are likely to be the favourites for 2007 with their current form.

But as like in every sport and every team the downfall of Australia will come. The West Indies seemed indomitable and unbeatable not so long ago. They were the kings and rest all the other teams competed amongst themselves to come distant second. Their domination over the game was absolute. It was complete. I always argue that Clive Lloyd's team of late 1970s and early 1980s was the best cricketing side ever.

But as with Lloyds team when the key players started retiring one by one leaving a vaccum, the same fate is likely to hit Australia. The key might be a gradual phase out.Warne and McGrath are likely to retire sooner than later and Australia might need to build a second-rung of players who will fit in their shoes. Thats easier said than done. Off course Ricky Ponting is still young and very able skipper.

I am happy with the result of second test purely because it has kept the interest alive in series. Also since cricket is dying a slow death in the country of its birth, it is heartening to see England beat its arch rival at home. This will,God willing, give the required filip to English cricket.

I would like to see England,South Africa and West Indies build up a formidable challenge to the Asians to see a balance in cricketing world. Cricket was much better when these teams were playing well. Today somehow it has become more asian and lost some of its lustre.

Not sure what affect the new rules will have on its popularity. Hope it manages to raise the sagging interest in cricket overall.

Great games and great sports are always marked by great rivalries. I lost interest in watching tennis when every year a new face came to centre court of Wimbledon finals. Tennis was great when McNroe fought Bjon Borg and Becker fought Edberg and Sampras fought Aggassi each year. It was great when Chris Evert and Martina or Steffi Graf and Monica Seles were arch-rivals and each of us had their prejudices and favourites to back up.

Similarly soccer is fun to watch as long as Latinos have a serious competition from Europe or even amongst the latinos, Brazil and Argentina have a India-Pak like rivalry.

Arch-rivalries bring out the best and the most exciting games.

Thankfully English cricket is reviving and Ashes still has some meaning. Hope Andrew Flintoff can do an Ian Botham on Ashes for the sake of English cricket :)