Thursday, June 23, 2005
The state of play
A few losses does not make a crisis, but the Australian cricket team are now beginning to feel the pressure. Although being far from invincible (a series loss in India in 2002 springs to mind), the team has been the dominant force in world cricket for the passed 16 years, beginning with the 1989 Ashes turnaround in England. But now Australians are asking themselves, is this dominance coming to an end?

In the final analysis, it has to, eventually. Whether it ends now, in an Ashes series, time will tell, but unless you are the only nation that plays a particular sport (think USA and American Football and to an extent, Baseball, at which they sometimes loose) you cannot stay on top forever.

The ODI loss to Bangladesh was undoubtedly an aberration. It seemed the team was ill prepared and sloppy in the field. To their credit, Bangladesh did bowl well, but Australia should have been quite capable of defending 250. There were some improvements in the next game against England and I guess Australia could take heart that it was two players who played the best games of their international ODI careers who won the game. But the ease at which England then brushed aside Bangladesh told heaps.

It is not time to start panicking yet. Australia often dig that little bit deeper when it really matters. In recent years, England have won Ashes Tests but only when the results did not matter. A steely Australia should soon emerge to defend the Ashes with spirit; it is simply a case of whether they have the depth in quality the bowling attack.

Australia is now blooding some youngsters in the batting line up, but in the bowling department the old guard remains entrenched. McGath and Warne remain two of the world's best bowlers, but only on their day and they will soon loose the edge. Coupled with an out-of-sorts Gillespie, an injured Lee and the Australian attack looks weakened and probably incapable of bowling England out twice at least three times.

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