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Are we going to miss Australia’s dominance?
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of March Add your comment below
This has been nagging at the back of my mind for a while, so am just penning it down before it disppears completely. Someone was recently talking about the West Indies, and how the World Cup could provide the spark needed to relight passion in the country. Fledgling interest, and so forth. Everyone, so he said, loves the West Indies and wants them to succeed – wants them to be back on top of the world, like they were in the 1970s and 80s.
Back then, I imagine there was a similar feeling of foreboding toward West Indies as there is nowadays for teams facing Australia. They steamrollered the opposition, trampling all over them like bastards. Like Australia have been doing for the past 12 or so years. But, if and when this Australia side collapse into an arthritic heap, will we mourn them? Will we, in 10 years, have the same feeling that we now have for the West Indies: wanting Australia back to their best?
Not bloody likely. I will dance from the rooftops when some of their ageing limbs start to crumble. I’ve had enough of their strutting, their casual arrogance, their one-handed mis-hitting-for-six-over-long-on (Hayden; Gilchrist; whoever). It’s not big, it’s certainly not clever and it’s boring and ugly cricket.
Oh, and while I’m ranting – Nathan Bracken wears a hair band. Nathan Beckham he should be known as. Or, perhaps, Alice Bracken.
Tags: 2007-world-cup, alice-band, australia, nathan-bracken, west-indies |
27 Responses to “Are we going to miss Australia’s dominance?”
March 28th, 2007 at 10.01 pm
March 28th, 2007 at 10.10 pm
*cheers*
Finally some meat, thanks Will! I enjoyed your rant mate, I really did. Who doesn’t miss the Calypso Kings of the 70’s and 80’s? Those somewhat high pitched squeals when all 11 players went up to celebrate a wicket. Tall lanky buggers all giving each other high-ten’s. They were brilliant, belligerent, astonishing; but don’t think for a second that they weren’t arrogant and did not strut their stuff. They did.
TAnd they deserved to. They earned it and used it. You don’t think their whole aura and dominance weren’t used as a scare tactic? Those burning eyes, those snarls whenever things didn’t go their way; Holding, Roberts, Marshall, Garner, Ambrose. We loved it.
The West Indies were dominating because they had snarl. They were arrogant. They knew they were great and made sure you knew it. Australia are dominating because they are ruthless. They’re just fine with ending careers, thumping and making a mockery of bowlers and batsmen world over. They’re fine pointing out who they’re targeting pre-series and targeting them.
I firmly believe bowlers these days don’t have the snarl; probably because of how quickly everyone comes down on them. If a bowler appeals longer than a few seconds the commentators start talking about over-appealing and suggesting an appearance in front of the Match Referee. Bowlers have to be careful with chirping in the batsman’s ear before the Umpires intervene. Disgust at an adjudication not in their favour? Match Referee. And forget send-offs – they’re no longer approved.
It’s a batsman’s era where conditions and officiating (and everything else) favour the batsman. Everyone wonders why games are high scoring and 10 wicket’s can’t be taken? Thankfully there are still some games where bat and ball compete on even ground, the Australia v England in World Cup 2003 comes to mind. But it doesn’t make up for the grand percentage of games that are bat heavy.
Back on point – I have a feeling Australia already had their collapse; already slipped from grace. It happened in February and March. It was a short lived moment of glory for all the media snipers out there. Bask in the 5-in-a-row losses. For a team who has achieved every single thing there is to achieve in cricket (and there’s nothing left bar the 20-20 World Cup), the start to this World Cup must be chilling for the rest of the World. Australia is hungry and want to destroy everyone in it’s path.
The media continue to dig into Ricky Ponting. When will they learn? It incenses him and causes him to do what he does; and I know you know what he does. He chirps at the Umpires regarding their decisions and receives criticism for it. Let me leave you with one to take to the drawing board:
If your captain would display the arrogance and the fire to be right in the thick of things; and I mean everything; then perhaps you will have taken the first steps towards your own kind of dominance.
March 29th, 2007 at 12.10 am
The casual arrogance of the Australian cricket team may be aggravating but it is probably a defensive posture initiated by the need to never let the English cricket team win, because on the rare occasions that the English do win there is unleashed such an outburst of contempt, vitriol, jeering and conceit by the English media that it must set in concrete a commitment by the Australians to never let such an event happen again.
March 29th, 2007 at 12.16 am
I’m sick of everyone talking about the Australian team as if they are some kind of virus afflicting world cricket. The fact of the matter is that if Australian team had never exsisted 1.8 rpo would be a great test run rate and 3.8 would be an acceptable ODI run rate.
We lift the standard every time we play. If other teams can’t match it they moan about our arrogance and how we think we’re bigger than the game. That’s bulls*it. Stop worrying about what we do and concentrate on your own ability.
New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and England can consistantly beat us when they are playing well.
“I’ve had enough of their strutting, their casual arrogance, their one-handed mis-hitting-for-six-over-long-on (Hayden; Gilchrist; whoever). It’s not big, it’s certainly not clever and it’s boring and ugly cricket.” You bemoan us yet your most celebrated player fits this profile perfectly. Kevin Pietersen. If Hayden does an unorthidox shot it’s ugly but when KP does one it’s a fine shot.
If the England team had been dominant to our level for the last 12 years I doubt you’d be complaing.
I agree about Nathan Bracken’s hair.
March 29th, 2007 at 1.03 am
It’s unlikely Australia will collapse like the West Indies – the sport is by far the most popular in youth and adult circles, and there is enough depth in the State ranks to suggest when we do slide, it won’t be very far down the rankings.
March 29th, 2007 at 1.16 am
Not like you, Will. Anything else caused you to throw the rattle out of the playpen?
March 29th, 2007 at 1.19 am
I agree with Tim.
Talk about you having a severe case of petty envy, Will! ( Or is it penis envy?)
And Michael, get a hold on yourself. “Chilling”, “ruthless” and “destroy”! These are the same sorts of words the western media always use to describe anything the opponents of the US and Britain do or say. I’m sick of the demonising of the Australian team, simply because they play better. It’s a game, remember!
And what Tim says about “Figjam”, goes for the bowlers as well. When a minnow or black player wildly celebrates a wicket, it’s “wonderful exurberance”; when an Aussie or white Saffer do it ( like Nel), it’s “over the top”, distasteful arrogance; when Flintoff does his “I’m a star” imitation (haven’t seen that one for a while, though), it’s “dear Fred!”; when Brett Lee takes him off, the english completely fail to see the humour and Lee’s admiration of Flintoff in the gesture.( And Lee is far more likable, pleasant, friendly, agreeable, affable, amiable, genial, personable, charming, good-natured, engaging, appealing, than the entire English team, save Strauss and Hoggard. Have you seen his Weetbix ads?)
And another particular highly prominent “someone”, possibly the same one you are referring to, Will, who recently came out with similar statements about the “loveable ” Windies of the 80’s, has certainly changed his tune from 20 years ago (when he was a player). Back then he said worse things about them than he has said recently about the Aussies, including charming references to them, something along the lines of “jungle” and “animals”!
I don’t agree about Bracken’s hair – perhaps you guys are just jealous? 
March 29th, 2007 at 2.21 am
Andrew Symonds wears a hairband, too, made from his own hair (ties two plaits together on top of his head!) but I don’t see you bagging him.
Monty wears one too, a really big scarf-sized one. I don’t hear you trashing him.
Too scared, Will? Pretending to be culturally-sensitive, while picking on the “safe” targets? Using your blog owner status to bully?
March 29th, 2007 at 3.11 am
When I saw your “one-handed mis-hitting-for-six-over-long-on” I thought you were reminiscing about Flintoff and Pietersen in the 2005 Ashes. Then I remembered they kept hitting those shots over mid-wicket and fine-leg.
March 29th, 2007 at 4.11 am
Ah Will, here I was thinking you were above this sort of thing. I know you’re a pom, but until this article I thought you were one of those rarely sighted non-whingers. Oh well.
March 29th, 2007 at 5.44 am
Hmm, I wonder if Will is just trying to wind you all up!
I’m afraid the truth is that one team totally dominating cricket is just pretty boring.
And I’m really bored with other teams that approach Australia with quivering knees. They’re human beings who shit and have stupid haircuts like anyone else, and Hayden can be got out just as easily as anyone. I remember an English cricket writer complaining to me earlier in the year that it was impossible to get Mike Hussey out. Complete bullshit. Poor old Hussey hasn’t been having a good trot lately and was apparently “completely demoralised” by the Chappell-Hadlee series against us Kiwis. And big Aussie totals — the Kiwis are pretty good at knocking them off.
And I get bored with cricket writers (from England, Australia and everywhere else) who start talking about Australia as if they are demi-gods. All I think is, just you wait, they’ll be losing again soon. Far too much sports writing is all-or-nothing forecasting, reading the runes and the sheep’s entrails, talking about how useless so-and-so is until they’re a hero the next week. And I find it hard to feel sorry for Aussie cricket fans who feel picked on — those are the breaks when you’re on top. Those are the breaks when you’re on the bottom too.
I don’t have anything against the Aussie cricketers themselves, or their methods or their celebrations. Because I also have clear memories of how gutted they look when they lose. I almost felt sorry for them here in NZ a month ago.
March 29th, 2007 at 6.01 am
Michaael,
I’m not an Indian. But, I’m a big fan of OZ cricket (Steve Waugh, Gillespie & Gilchrist being the main reasons for it). Now that India is out, I want Aus to win the world cup. But, having said that it is very difficult for a neutral to like the on-field antics of people like McGrath (for that matter, even Nel though he’s not Oz).
And your last sentence (quoted below) smacks of double standards:
If your captain would display the arrogance and the fire to be right in the thick of things; and I mean everything; then perhaps you will have taken the first steps towards your own kind of dominance.
In one of your previous comments I read that u detest Sourav Ganguly and Graeme Smith. Yet, these are the 2 captains who have consistently displayed that arrogance & fire with a fair degree of success against Australia. How come you detest the very same qualities that you like in your captain when displayed by someone else?
March 29th, 2007 at 1.25 pm
Go it Will! I like it. I have no rational arguments to back it up, but jeez it’s nice to slag the Aussie team off.
I’m sure I didn’t like the Windies that much when they were dominant, either . . . call me woosy and old fashioned, but I didn’t like blood on the pitch.
Good to hear Hoggy is well thought of, Fiona. But as for the option of an arrogant captain for England, Michael – no thanks! I’ll settle for the current quiet confidence without dummy-spits when they lose, thanks!
March 29th, 2007 at 3.46 pm
Would you like to quote me passages from the bible as well Fiona?
Get a grip on myself? I’m describing how the dominating team is typically detested; but have the fire needed to consistently stay on top. Here I am, an Aussie reading Will’s rant (something he has all rights to in his *own* blog) and enjoyed the read. So you got my rant in response => Arrogance can equal dominance.
If I think about it Ganguly and Smith probably are the type who I’ve described, and yes I detest them. This doesn’t take away their successes or abilities because I don’t like them. I just don’t like them. As many don’t like Ricky Ponting and/or Australia for the same reasons. My least favourite teams are SA, IND and ENG so that doesn’t help either. It has nothing to do with double standards.
I’m afraid Caroline that without fire in the belly England will continue to frustrate the hell out of you for years to come.
March 29th, 2007 at 7.54 pm
I think the West Indies made for much more boring cricket during their pomp than Australia: if the greatest spin bowler of all time hadn’t emerged just at the right time, spin bowling could have been virtually erradicated in the 90s (at least outside of the sub-continent). I remember well the euphoria when Graham Gooch’s weak England team beat them at Sabina Park in 1990, against all the odds.
Watching Gilchrist clobber good balls to the boundary is enfuriating, but perhaps no more so than watching four fast bowlers destroy your batting line-up through sheer intimidation. One could accept it when it was geniuses such as Marshall or Ambrose… but it was watching their lesser bowlers pick up cheap wickets that irked the most (Courtney Walsh was their Matthew Hayden: accumulated far more wickets than his talent deserved, thanks to sheer longevity and weak oppositions).
The sense of sorrow that English fans may have felt when we (mainly Harmison) humiliated the Windies in 2004 was surely partly political-economic: a recognition that social problems, basketball, soccer and poverty had stolen their swagger as much as our cricketers had.
March 29th, 2007 at 10.13 pm
Will we miss the Aussie when they fall? Will we b*ggery. Nope. Same as we did not miss the WIndies. We cheered and breathed a huge sigh of relief that someone else could have a go at winning again. Only now, with 20 years do we have T20 vision to see what the WIndies were then in the context of cricket played at the time. And at that time, they were hugely scary.
Sure, socio-political events have influenced cricket massively and always will so long as the selectors and ICC have a masochistic desire to shoot themselves in the foot on a perpetual basis and the folding green lurks in the background. But the crunch comes with the fans who operate on (unfortunately) a much lower level. It is great to see a team rise and shine over 12 months (note: England 2004-2005) but boring to see a team dominate for 12 years. Expectations stagnate. The process is called habituation.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the Aussies or WIndies or whoever, we are glad to see them gone when they win too often. In ten years time, when we are fed up with South Africa, we will probably be blogging here about the good old Aussie days.
March 29th, 2007 at 10.28 pm
I don’t think South Africa has what it takes…
Yesterday they managed to cough up whatever was choking them at the final breath. Perhaps it was the Heimlich Maneuver.
If it’s not dropping simple catches, miscalculating the rain rule or cramping bodies it’s having the first ever 4 wickets in 4 balls against them.
My point is it is *always* something. I’m still looking for a statement from Pat Symcox, Daryl Cullinan and others. They’ve gone quiet.
March 29th, 2007 at 10.44 pm
“If your captain would display the arrogance and the fire to be right in the thick of things; and I mean everything; then perhaps you will have taken the first steps towards your own kind of dominance.”
This is bollocks, Michael! Ponting’s contribution to the Australian team is his batting, his brilliant batting, not his tantrums. Nor his captaincy for that matter. And I think you underestimate Vaughan if you think his mildmannered exterior is the measure of the man. He is just as ambitious and hard underneath as I’m sure you imagine Ponting is, witness the restoration of pride in English cricket over 2004-05, the execution of a close and nerve-wracking Ashes win, the comeback from a career-threatening injury to reclaim the captaincy from the sainted Flintoff. It’s all very well to captain the world’s best team; it’s the captain of the struggling and improving team that has shown more fire, particularly when his own form has been dodgy.
And for God’s sake, Will, can you tell your mate Andrew Miller over at Cricinfo to stop telling us (in his match preview) to expect big hitting from Flintoff down the order. Because when does that happen? It’s a little golden memory from the past. It’s about time Flintoff pulled his finger out and started to deserve that big reputation and the millions.
March 29th, 2007 at 11.19 pm
I completely disagree. Ponting made some weird choices and received criticism for his Ashes 2005 captaincy. Since then he’s been a man on a mission. Not just with his batting. His captaincy has been brilliant.
Did you know since the 5th Ashes Test in 2005 we’ve won 16 Tests and Drawn 1? 0 losses. Not a bad turnaround after a series loss to England that had started the rot. That had caused Ponting in particular to come under fire.
The notable series wins:
- South Africa Tests 5-0
- England Ashes Tests 5-0
Ouch. Both against nations who thought they were going to match Australia.
We’ve also picked up:
- Champions Trophy Title
- Only undefeated team in WC 2007
His only blemish since Ashes 2005 has been the Commonwealth Bank series finals.
He’s been pro-active with bowling changes, fielding placements, and most of all made sure his team mates don’t ease up having already won the series. He’s lead to make sure we’ve won by those 5-0 margins. No losing dead rubbers which has always been a problem for Australia.
His captaincy has everything to do with our re-ascension.
While Vaughn may have inspired the restoration of pride it’s fair to say he, Flintoff and probably Fletcher have rested on their laurels. England has won 5 out of 18 tests since. Whatever fire they had seems to have burned out.
March 30th, 2007 at 1.03 am
Add NZ to undefeated. That was an oversight on my part.
March 30th, 2007 at 3.03 am
Michael, I was going to say, don’t mistake quiet confidence for a lack of fire in Vaughan. He’s as steely as they come. But Kathy got there before me. Must be the time difference in her favour . . . As for resting on his laurels . . . what exactly was he supposed to do for the last year. I suspect he has been working harder than the rest of the England team put together, physically and emotionally, during the last year. I am beginning to agree more and more with you about Flintoff, as info leaks out, but regarding Fletcher, I am not sure. And I defy anyone who does not know the guy personally, to be able to read him accurately.
As for being frustrated for a long time, well, I don’t have the materialistic, win win win attitude of some, so I can live with being proud of the boys when they do well, which they do every now and then . . .
Perhaps we are just destined to argue for ever, because there is no absolute truth here. Just your perception of Ponting against the rest of the world . . er . . sorry, mine . . .
March 30th, 2007 at 3.16 am
Someone once wrote something to this effect in regards to the household hierarchy in Australia. It’s funny, not necessarily true, but gives you an idea…
Hierarchy in the home:
1. Australian Cricket Captain
2. The Kife
3. The Kids
March 30th, 2007 at 7.10 am
I know it’s wishful thinking, but I DO hope Ireland beat England tonight.
March 30th, 2007 at 11.10 am
Australia may be too tough to beat but New Zealand has enough ability to show them a way. Lets see whats happens when they face each other….
And All the Best Ireland and England for today’s clash …
March 30th, 2007 at 1.06 pm
Wraye said:
It is great to see a team rise and shine over 12 months (note: England 2004-2005) but boring to see a team dominate for 12 years. Expectations stagnate. The process is called habituation.
It hasn’t been a boring 12 years for me. In fact, you can pretty much make that 18 years (it took 6 more years to officially overcome the Windies than it did everyone else). In fact, quite the opposite of boring – it’s been some fantastic form of cricket fan ecstacy. For English fans that can only dream of such periods it must be comforting to think of it as boring…..
For the Aussies, success has tended to breed success. The expectations of success by the team itself, the public, the press become so intense that any falling away (re: 2005 Ashes) seems to result in a raising of the bar to new efforts.
Unfortunately for the Windies, it seems that there just wasn’t the same infrastructure and unity to support continuity of their supremacy.
Given that Australia has those things it will be interesting to see whether Australia will fall away. And if they do, exactly how far.
March 30th, 2007 at 2.04 pm
Here, hang on, Australia lost 3-0 to New Zealand last month, and lost to England in the ODI trophy, and it was sposed to be tbe beginning of the end?
Quite the variable lot.
I don’t think the current ODI side is quite as powerful as it was, say, in 2003. Hussey may be the new Bevan but Lehmann has outperformed Clarke so far, and the bowling is definately weaker then it used to be.
Test wise, with the great duo gone, it’s going to be hard to maintain the standards of old, but we should be strong enough to see off challengers for the foreseeable future.
April 1st, 2007 at 2.57 pm
Reagrding Ponting’s captaincy, I’ve just finished watching the highlights of England beating Australia in the first C’Wealth Bank final. At one point with England needing a run a ball, Lee bowled a no-ball which was driven to Ponting for an additional single. Ponting picked it up, spun around and almost hurled the ball to the ground in sheer frustration. Until Ponting reigns his temper in on the field and stops blatantly panicking when the pressure’s on, he’ll never be anything more than a competent captain.
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