The baggy green caps would be back on the field after losing the last test match to New Zealand in the Trans Tasman series. Before half a decade the story was pretty different from what it seems now. The team used to beleaguer its opponent. They bamboozled every hurdle on and off the field and aims victory like a chatoyant. But changes do happen and table do turn, the diaphanous turnover did took place and the Australian team was falling upside down from the zenith.
The legacy was not ephemeral, they ruled the game for over a decade, but the question is what is going to happen next? Is the harbinger indicating that Australia cannot dominate the world cricket again? Will the past imbricate Australia over West Indies? The query might be incipient in nature but would be answered in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. We all know playing against Australia in Australia would be one heck of a challenge but certainly the team is not a nemesis any more, they can be conquered and are conquered in recent past.
Now talking about the past, Australia was an opulent team with strong bench strength, but same isn’t the story now. Starting from the top order, Shane Watson is a very fine cricketer and can match Hayden in Batting style, also he is a top class all-rounder who in all capability can prove deadly against any opposition, But the worry is fitness. Is he fit to play the Boxing Day test match? Australia is finding it very difficult to reveal a penumbra of past, the strength which Mathew Hayden, Justin Langer and Michael slater used to provide is missing. Shaun Marsh and Phil Hughes haven’t done any wonders so far but the latter one is provided with a lot more opportunities. David Warner when struck is maiden Test Hundred looked in sublime touch but it would be too risky to bet all your money on a new horse.
Michael Clarke is in good touch but the problem is with consistency, Clarke has every capability to play big innings but looks rusty at times which also shows in his captaincy. Ricky ponting is not in a very good form either and also lacks consistency but his batting average of 47.7 against his favorite opponent speaks volume of how much he likes facing India. Michael Hussey is going through tough times. Mr. Cricket looked very average against a not so good New Zealand side and is going through a rough patch since Castle Langer series. Due to lack of alternatives the selectors are unable to drop him from the squad. Usman Khwaja is a nice young lad who has cricketing brain and technique but is in a dilemma of choosing the perfect batting position to bat in. He looked a bit shady against the new ball while on the other side looked a totally different player against a softer kookaburra ball. No one can fill the void left over by the great Adam Gilchrist and looking at the present scenario they are left with no other option then to play Brad Haddin.
In the bowling department, some youngsters have done a prolific job. The likes of James Pattinson, Patrick Cummings, Peter Siddle, Mitchel Starc, and Doug Bollinger gave a plethora of options for the selectors to choose the finest talent. This very clearly indicates that the Arsenal of fast bowler is sumptuous and the Australian team would be really happy seeing a healthy competition among the bowlers to retain their position in the test squad. The problem for Australia is their search in spin Department has been vestigial. After the great Shane Warne decided to hang up his boots we saw spinners like Jason Kreja, Nathan Lyon, Nathan Hauritz and Xavier Doherty but none of them as talented as Warne. None of the new generation spinner has the ability to win a test match for Australia on its own.
It is very Important to take all twenty wickets to win a test match and Australian fast bowlers gives a scintilla of hope to the woebegone and downtrodden Aussie side but again the question is can this ripple provide a panacea, or the Forthcoming series would be the final nail in the coffin within which lies the Australian hopes of becoming Numero Uno.
The legacy was not ephemeral, they ruled the game for over a decade, but the question is what is going to happen next? Is the harbinger indicating that Australia cannot dominate the world cricket again? Will the past imbricate Australia over West Indies? The query might be incipient in nature but would be answered in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. We all know playing against Australia in Australia would be one heck of a challenge but certainly the team is not a nemesis any more, they can be conquered and are conquered in recent past.
Now talking about the past, Australia was an opulent team with strong bench strength, but same isn’t the story now. Starting from the top order, Shane Watson is a very fine cricketer and can match Hayden in Batting style, also he is a top class all-rounder who in all capability can prove deadly against any opposition, But the worry is fitness. Is he fit to play the Boxing Day test match? Australia is finding it very difficult to reveal a penumbra of past, the strength which Mathew Hayden, Justin Langer and Michael slater used to provide is missing. Shaun Marsh and Phil Hughes haven’t done any wonders so far but the latter one is provided with a lot more opportunities. David Warner when struck is maiden Test Hundred looked in sublime touch but it would be too risky to bet all your money on a new horse.
Michael Clarke is in good touch but the problem is with consistency, Clarke has every capability to play big innings but looks rusty at times which also shows in his captaincy. Ricky ponting is not in a very good form either and also lacks consistency but his batting average of 47.7 against his favorite opponent speaks volume of how much he likes facing India. Michael Hussey is going through tough times. Mr. Cricket looked very average against a not so good New Zealand side and is going through a rough patch since Castle Langer series. Due to lack of alternatives the selectors are unable to drop him from the squad. Usman Khwaja is a nice young lad who has cricketing brain and technique but is in a dilemma of choosing the perfect batting position to bat in. He looked a bit shady against the new ball while on the other side looked a totally different player against a softer kookaburra ball. No one can fill the void left over by the great Adam Gilchrist and looking at the present scenario they are left with no other option then to play Brad Haddin.
In the bowling department, some youngsters have done a prolific job. The likes of James Pattinson, Patrick Cummings, Peter Siddle, Mitchel Starc, and Doug Bollinger gave a plethora of options for the selectors to choose the finest talent. This very clearly indicates that the Arsenal of fast bowler is sumptuous and the Australian team would be really happy seeing a healthy competition among the bowlers to retain their position in the test squad. The problem for Australia is their search in spin Department has been vestigial. After the great Shane Warne decided to hang up his boots we saw spinners like Jason Kreja, Nathan Lyon, Nathan Hauritz and Xavier Doherty but none of them as talented as Warne. None of the new generation spinner has the ability to win a test match for Australia on its own.
It is very Important to take all twenty wickets to win a test match and Australian fast bowlers gives a scintilla of hope to the woebegone and downtrodden Aussie side but again the question is can this ripple provide a panacea, or the Forthcoming series would be the final nail in the coffin within which lies the Australian hopes of becoming Numero Uno.
