This is the first time since 1986-87 (after Mike Gatting’s team) that an English team has won or retained the Ashes down under, leave apart the convincing nature of the win. And I fail to remember the last time in this lifetime, when I had watched the mighty Aussies suffering two innings defeats in a single series, and the even more humiliating part is that they were playing in their native conditions. In fact, one has to go back a century and another 34 years, i.e. the whole lifetime of Australian Cricket, to find evidences of such a disheartening and humiliating defeat in tests for the Aussies. It would not be exaggerating to say that England couldn’t have fitted the last nail on the Kangaroo coffin in a more ruthless fashion than in one of the citadels of Cricket-the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground).
Few weeks prior to the Ashes, hoardings and banners in and around Australia read statements like “Don’t forget to bring the Urn, mate” with pictures of Ponting and Co. sporting wide grins. I wonder if the Aussie advertisers will be a little less arrogant and display a little more restraint in their remarks the next time round, unlike the Barmy Army, which has been partying wild in celebrations over a win they had never expected to see in the wildest of dreams. From Melbourne to the nightclubs in London, the sprinkler dance has become the hottest move on the dance floor overnight, thanks to the flamboyant Kevin Pietersen.
But for the losers, the grief has been much more harsh and retaliating than the sweetness of victory for the ‘over-the-moon’ English. Australian newspapers and the media, as a whole, have unleashed a series of assaults at the Cricket team and administrators of the game in the country. Headlines like “The last rites” have filled the back pages of the Aussie newspapers in deep shame. Cricket Australia has set many a benchmark in several aspects over many decades. The administration of the sport in the country has carried out a fine process of nurturing and fine-tuning talent not just for a couple of years or so, but for over years and years, especially since the late 1980s (the golden period of the Allan Border’s captaincy). But all of a sudden, in the last couple of years, CA seems to have been caught in a whirlwind of dilemmas, posing as dark clouds over the future of Australian Cricket. From ageing and retiring maestros to lack of truly world-class talent, CA has many cases to solve and many questions to answer. Apparently, after the humiliating defeat at the hands of the surprisingly powerful English, in an extremely desperate move, the Chairman of CA, Jack Clarke, has ordered a probe into the reasons behind such a dismal performance by the, once considered indispensable, Aussies. All my wishes are with you Jack and hope that your men can yield better and more transparent results than the CBI has, in India, in the 2G scam.
Of the many casualties to reflect upon for them, the Australian dressing room will be extra-critical of their captain-chew’s performance. Ricky Ponting, over the last year, has not only lost the title of being acclaimed as the best captain in the world (which anyways most people doubted), but also has lost reigns over a team, which now looks more capable replacing the WAGs in the stands than play the gentleman’s (which they never have been) game on the field. And to add salt to the fresh wound, it would not be an optimistically pessimistic statement to make; Ricky Ponting has lost unrecoverable ground in the race with the Little Master, Sachin Tendulkar, to be recognized as the greatest batsman of the modern era, giving way to the more in-form South African talisman, Jacques Kallis. Moreover, being in the late 30s too doesn’t help his cause any bit.
Talking of captaincy, the other option that the Aussies have bound themselves to, as of now, is Mr. Metrosexual (read Michael Clarke). Now that man sure looks a million dollar eye-candy on the crease for all those brainless beauties on the stands having a good time under the sun, but the only glitch in the scene is that the stand-in skipper for the last Ashes test is aware of this fact. We wonder if Michael’s girl has seen him setting his hawk-eyes on the pretty ladies in the crowd more often than setting proper attacking fields for the rampant English batsman who had a walk in the park, barring the Perth test. On a serious note, providing the current crop of players with the perfect leader is probably the most imminent of all the pending concerns to be taken care of by the administrators down under.
If problems are to be singled out, the dearth of more than one quality spinner in the present Australian team can be considered to be playing a pivotal role in their downfall as the tyrants of world cricket in all its forms. In simple words, the likes of Nathan Hauritz and Co. are just not good enough to fill in the shoes of the greatest and most entertaining spinner to have ever stepped on a cricket field and off it too, Shane Warne. And the fact that the Kangaroos are missing him badly was testified during the recently concluded Ashes by the nationwide cry made to bring him out of international retirement and snatch the coveted urn from their bitter rival turned (suddenly) ferocious carnivore, England. Alas, he was a little pre-occupied with some unfinished business with Liz Hurley (oops….you don’t call her that, its Elizabeth), a pre-meditated English googly, we might say. Or maybe he’s getting himself ready to lead Shilpa Shetty and her men in Rajasthan’s royal blue for IPL-4. Whatever it is, the wizard is not interested…….
The current Australian team stands in stark contrast with its predecessor which dominated world cricket for almost a decade. It boasted of some legends the sport has witnessed which included, arguably, the deadliest ever bowling-combo of Warne and McGrath, of one of the best ever captains; Steve Waugh and his flamboyant brother with a magnificent pair of hands; Mark Waugh, of the greatest wicketkeeper and one of the most dashing and entertaining left-handers; Adam Gilchrist, of a batting maestro whom Ravi Shastri referred to as the “ball hitting a wall” and one of the best opening batsman; Mathew Hayden and the list shall go on, but I end it here with injustice done to those not mentioned. I just picked my favorites. The change of guards in that line-up has been as abrupt as the sensex at BSE crashing down from the 20K mark to the 15Ks overnight. Retirements in quick succession of the experienced baggy greens has left the rather vulnerably young guys with way too many expectations to live up to and too little space to breathe. And to add to that enormous pressure, the newbies are, or should I say (in this new world order) were, the inheritors of the humongous title of World Champions and a crown which pricks you if you don’t enjoy it on your head. Test cricket has been the biggest worry for the Kangaroos in recent times. They have fared considerably well in the shorter versions of the game, but in times when the T20 style has moulded the 50-over format, it is an arguable notion that the true potential of a cricketer’s abilities is testified in the longer version.
I remember Richie Benaud once making a statement during one of his routine commentary sessions, “This game is a great leveler”. Since then, it always remained etched in my subconscious memory and I tried to relate the notion to many a cricketing achievement and accident, but none suited the bill better, for me, than witnessing the reign of Australia as undisputed world champions to being just one of the five best teams in the world shaping the new world order in Cricket. Oh yes, the game is a great leveler.
Every good thing comes to an end and every end marks a new beginning. The Aussies might have lived their mighty long purple patch, but the end of their never-ending streak of dominance has paved the way for a more competitive race with each participant owning the ability to nose ahead of the rest at any point of time. And the end of their tyrannical reign over world cricket couldn’t have announced itself at a better and more crucial junction, with the World Cup knocking on the door. The engines are roaring and are raring to go, and after 3 consecutive world cups, for the first time, both the spots for the finalists are up for grabs. But in spite of them no more being the undisputed No.1, one shouldn’t be foolish enough to not count them as one of the largely possible contenders to win the cup, in fact in their case, retain it.
But at the end of the long day and even longer Ashes (for the fallen Wizards of Oz), the talking point for the experts and headlines of newspapers is the ‘end of an era’. An era of sheer cricketing brilliance, integration, passion and all the expletives to go along with them, but above all, an era of never satisfied hunger.
Standing on the horizon with a keen cricketing vision, as one sees the waves of dominance dying down, the experience of observation foretells him of the start of another period, probably another reign, and hope not another tyranny.
