Australia still the best side by far

<div class="section1"><div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="0" width="32.1%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/863356.cms" alt="/photo/863356.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">As the saying goes: One swallow does not make a summer.Similarly, one loss does not signal the halt of the Australian cricket juggernaut. In terms of sheer consistency and an abundance of proven talent, the team remains head and shoulders above the rest of the cricketing world.<br /><br />Australia’s defeat at England’s hands, the ineffectual Aussie bowling, and the impending retirement of some stalwarts, have led sceptics to conclude that the Australian reign will soon end.<br /><br />This is more wishful thinking than careful assessment. Such a view is untenable for several reasons. The principal reason Australia have dominated cricket for about a decade now is the rigorous and hugely successful talent nurturing programme run all across the country. Cricket Australia, as their board is now known, has virtually rewritten the book as far as coaching talented youngsters goes. <br /><br />When Allan Border, Bobby Simpson and other farsighted administrators set about revitalising Australian cricket in the 80s, they found that a steady supply of talent was needed to replace older players. They threatened players with exclusion if they did not perform. <br /><br />Talent nurseries were founded and from them came the Warnes, McGraths and the Pontings who have taken Aussie cricket to new heights. That system still churns out top-flight performers as seen in the recent showing of Michael Clarke and Brad Hodge. This is precisely the reason why the country will continue to dominate cricket in the near future even if some lynchpins like Warne and McGrath retire shortly.<br /><br />The very fact that Steve Waugh was forced into retirement last year, despite his phenomenal record as captain and a 51.1 Test average, demonstrates the Aussie determination to focus on youth and talent. Clearly, a loss or two does not undermine a structure with such solid foundations.<br /><br /><a href="/articleshow/msid-863351,curpg-2.cms">Counterview</a><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">This is the beginning of the end </span><br /><br />The writing is on the wall: The Aussies could go the way of the West Indies in the nineties and their own team in the eighties. Let’s examine the analogy more closely. The West Indies went down the chute after Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Viv Richards and Curtly Ambrose retired in quick succession.<br /><br />Similarly, the Australians were reduced to a sorry team after the exit of Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Len Pascoe and Rodney Marsh in the early eighties. Allan Border’s men were cannon fodder for most teams, including Kapil Dev’s India, just as Brian Lara’s West Indies are today.<br /><br />In the current Australian squad, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie do not have many years to go. Their replacements are not a patch on them, if the recent Indian series Down Under is any indication. The much-touted reserve bench — in the form of Andy Bichel, Nathan Bracken, Brad Williams and Stuart MacGill — was completely ineffective against our batting.<br /><br />Brett Lee cannot spearhead the pace attack the way McGrath did for years, because he is simply not as good. <br /><br />As for the batting, it relies heavily on the consistency of Matthew Hayden, and least of all on its capricious captain Ricky Ponting. Darren Lehmann and Damien Martyn are good batsmen, the latter even a worthy successor to Mark Waugh as the team’s most elegant player, but nothing more.<br /><br />In short, the team’s bowling and batting is more impressive than invincible. In recent times, more than one team has run Australia close, by challenging its bowling in particular. All sides go through cyclical ups and downs, like business cycles in an economy, no matter what the infrastructure. Great players tend to burst on to the scene at the same time, inevitably leaving a vacuum a decade later. That’s what relieves all team sport of monotony. Move over, Australia.</div> </div>