The Australians have been setting a lot of firsts lately; those of the kind they’d rather wish they didn’t. After their first 10 wicket defeat in ODIs in the first game of the [tag]Chappell-Hadlee trophy[/tag], the series defeat has ensured that the Australians have been squeezed out of their undisputed position as the No.1 team in the ODI rankings for the first time since the system was introduced in 2002. Is it the end of an era of the great Australian dominance or is it just a classic case of a burn out?
Your answer would depend on how much you hate the Australian dominance or how much you enjoy their brand of strong and aggresive cricket. Agreed, it was very much a second string team without players like [tag]Ponting[/tag], [tag]Gilchrist[/tag] and Lee but I belong to the tribe who would now tend to believe that the cricketing world just got level and senses the world cup becoming jucier. A day after the Indian team gave new hope to millions of fans, the Australians planted more doubt and insecurity among theirs. They probably played one too many games. If the India – Srilanka series was unnecessary, the Australia – New Zealand series was a crime. At the rate at which players are getting injured, teams would be struggling to field a fit 11 for the world cup.
More than a blip?
Winning is a habit and so is losing as the Australians discovered at Eden park. After scoring a massive 336, the Australians still managed to lose with 10 balls to spare, to the buoyant Kiwis. That makes it their 4th consecutive ODI loss & 2nd consecutive series loss. Thats more than just a blip dont you think? [tag]Hussey[/tag] now has a rather forgettable record of 3 defeats in 3 matches as a captain. After the first defeat against the Kiwis, one expected the Australians to hit back strongly and in fact, they did. Scoring a massive 336 is a strong enough come back but like in the first match, Australian bowling was again flayed and brutalised by New Zealand.
This should surely provoke some questions against the Australian board for their unforgiving schedules but questions will also be raised about the famed Australian bench strength. If not anything, these defeats will boost the confidence of other teams especially the Proteas who are in the same group as the Aussies. There is no doubt that the Australians will come into the world cup their guns blazing, with their top players back in business and will try to hit their opponents hard. However, two series losses has meant that answering the question of who will make it to the final of the world cup just got a little more difficult. We would probably need a whole new post on that later.
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Tags: Cricket World Cup 2007
I’m wary of being too excited about this dip in aussie form (not that I’m an aussie hater, but the prospect of more competition is an eminently juicy one). This might be the worst thing for the world cup if they come back riaring and with a vengeance. But given the injuries and the amount of time between new and the start of the WC, that might not be as easy as Australia make it out to be. For me the most crucial character in their attempt at returning will be the captain, wo captains decently (though exceptionally compared to Hussey’s results), and bats like a beast.
For excitement’s sake, I hope they take their time ‘bouncing back’
with punter back australians will be a whole new force….i always thought that he was just a lucky captain of a gr8 team…but now, maybe he really is a good captain…if he can turn things back to normal…..
But it any case the batting doesnt seem to be the problem…u can not expect them to score more than 346…their bowling is totally shattered for now…i think Mcgrath is suffering from some kind of confidence crisis…and when Mcgrath is not confident australian bowling has a huge dent…the brackens and the taits are still not the big occassion bowlers and tend to choke…
symonds will be a huge factor in west indies(with his right arm slow ) but i dont see him recovering 100% by then though he will feature in the team…so all in all things looks bright(not for aussies but the other teams)….
I can’t hide my glee at the loss the Australians suffered at the hands of NZ. First they chase 336, then they chase 347 !! The moment when McCullum hit Bracken for a six (49.1 overs) to seal the match was like the moment Rajni puts hit hand into a snake pit and Padayappa theme music comes. I really wanted to fall on the feel of the TV!!
Let us hope aussie’s bad form continues throughout the World Cup..there is only one minor hitch..someone called Ponting..