It looks like the Australian team is a in a free fall! Not long back they were being lauded for the absolute hammering they gave to the Englishmen and yet in a matter of 2-3 weeks they have lost to the same Englishmen (thrice) and now to their neighbors from across the Tasman sea. And how have the Kiwis beaten them! First, by inflicting their first ever ten wicket loss. Then, [tag]Ross Taylor[/tag] scripted an amazing victory as the Kiwis chased down 337 to win the series 2-0. And to show that the 337 run chase was no fluke, the Kiwis went even better by achieving 346 (after being 41 for 4!). Full credit to [tag]Craig McMillan[/tag] and [tag]Brendon McCullum[/tag] for scripting such a brilliant victory.
Make no mistake about it, the aura surrounding the Australian team for the last 6-8 years has now completely vanished. What promises to make the world cup and the next few years more interesting is that teams will now step on the field against Australia genuinely believing in themselves to put it past the men with the baggy green.
The Australians have always been known to fight back when down but can they do it with a bowling line up that seems one-dimensional and totally bereft of ideas and discipline? Add to that the fact that major players like Symonds and Brett Lee will not be close to their 100 percent.
The question remains which team is going to lift itself during the big moments in case this Australian team doesn’t.
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Tags: Cricket World Cup 2007
I really don’t buy this Australia-is-down-and-out concept.It is quite an arbitrary statement to say that Australia aren’t favourites for the title. In any case, they should be more motivated because of the slip up in ICC rankings and the exclusion of Brett Lee.
Plus, this supposed Aussie downfall is not going to help India. They don’t look competitive enough from any angle you see them.
i think this world cup is a free for all…all teams look quite unsettled but capable of beating anyone on a given day….that said, aussies still remain favorites for the finals….
and india…they vary from being extremely competitive to depressingly weak on occasions…so u can neither discount them nor bank on them…