Poor Rickie and the Boys have been found out by a disciplined and talented South African Cricket Team. Out thought and outplayed over most of two tests, especially when it mattered.
The tables truely have been turned. The cricket kings of swagger and jabber don't look so good with some toothless bowling and some arrogant batting. This get out of jail stuff that we saw from the South Africans is what the Australians have been doing to all and sundry for almost 20 years. Not this time.
The days of sticking your collective heads in the sand and living with the memories are over. The fact that some of the all time greatest Australian test cricketers: Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting were part of the team this time last year, with only Ponting left, points to the gap.
The fact that Australia remain ranked number one in the Test Rankings is testament to their long term success more than their current form. Clearly the rankings are not a true reflection of who is top dog in world cricket.
And talking of attempts at world domination and train wrecks, I doubt we will be seeing new Telstra phoneboxes any time soon. "Operator Operator... have you seen any good cricketers lately?... Your call cannot be connected...... Please try again in five years when all the lawsuits have been settled ."
Next up for the Aussies after this series is a trip around South Africa before their chance to take it to the Poms as they defend The Ashes next northern summer.
Talking of happy South Africans, no doubt Kevin and the boys will be getting a little cocky as they start their preparations for the big match in Cardiff.
Even members of the dynasty that was Aussie Cricket have a hard time facing up to the new reality.
Like the senior men on the field, the relatively recent retirees with the microphones expected the superheroes to arrive. All the Australian capes have disappeared along with Telstra phoneboxes.
And talking of attempts at world domination and train wrecks, I doubt we will be seeing new Telstra phoneboxes any time soon. "Operator Operator... have you seen any good cricketers lately?... Your call cannot be connected...... Please try again in five years when all the lawsuits have been settled ."
Next up for the Aussies after this series is a trip around South Africa before their chance to take it to the Poms as they defend The Ashes next northern summer.
Talking of happy South Africans, no doubt Kevin and the boys will be getting a little cocky as they start their preparations for the big match in Cardiff.
I wonder what the odds on the Ashes are? You can check here. Australia are slight favourites, although you can get similar odds for both teams.
Despite all this, in all seriousness, I would still expect the Aussies to be very competitive, especially given the English propensity to fail when things look good.
Despite all this, in all seriousness, I would still expect the Aussies to be very competitive, especially given the English propensity to fail when things look good.
10 comments:
Its a bloody disgrace but if I had to be honest it makes my heart just smile a little when I see these blokes who are crying and thrashing around because of the current state of play of the Aussie team.
For years I have had to listen to cricket all summer long, 24 hours a day. I cannot stand Tony Greg, Ian Chappel or Richie Benaud - their voices turn me to drink. Now suddenly men are finding other things to do and I am not allowed to mention the c word anymore. Which of course means cricket somehow creeps into evey conversation I have. I love to see grown men cry, what can I say. Its called getting my own back after years of cricket abuse.
But I will tell you one thing, if the Poms beat us in the Ashes series then I too will join in the wailing brigade - that would be too, too much. Pompous asses that most of them are.
I predicted (to the tribe) the South Africans would slap our arses off the pitch and am not surprised in the least.
Ponting is a stitched up little wind-up doll who can't think on his feet, is fast running out of excuses for his poor performances and will have to face up to the fact that he was only chosen as captain because Warne wasn't.
This article HERE still holds true for Ponting today, they should never have let him back on the team.
May you be more charming, richer, healthier and happiest this coming new year!! Happy year 2009, Colin and family!
Bloody Hell, it's cricket time again. Thank heavens for Blockbuster.
Happy New Year to y'all.
Happy New Year River. The Third Test Starts on Saturday. That gives you two days to stock up.
What irks me is the commentators like Healy,Taylor, Slater and co who play the role of fanboys for their favourites/mates - eg Hayden and Symonds. Losing is good for Aus as hopefully it presents an opportunity to ditch some of the arrogant deadwood and start afresh. Whether that opporunity is taken remains to be seen - some of the noises from the selectors are not particularly encouraging.
Ian
Well put. There seems to be an air of brushing over the cracks. To me the only thing that should matter is sticking it to the Poms next summer. A tour to South Africa is a great testing ground for new talent. If things fall apart they can always bring back the Waugh brothers, Tubby and Warney and the like to supplement the team.
Time to blow it up and start again.
This tour we were able to listen to South African commentary. Apparently Channel 9 (or whoever) were a bit miffed that South Africans didn't like the Australian commentary, but it was the Aussie commentators that gave South Africans the attitude that they supported the South African cricket team and whoever was playing against Australia -- the Aussie commentators were so smug, so complacent, so self-satisfied.
And only recently we heard that the Australian commentators were not allowed to criticise the team. If one of them dropped a catch, they had to say something like "He's arguably the best fielder in the world." (when this was said of Mark Waugh once, one of the South African commentators in the break said "He isn't even the best fielder in his own family.")
That's a bit like George Bush. When he came to South Africa, local journalists were not allowed to ask questions at the press conferences -- they had to take the syndicated stuff the Americans sent home to brainwash their public.
One can understand that in politics, even if one diesn't approve of it, but in sports commentary? Sheesh!
Steve
Interesting. Aussie Cricket is certainly a bit of the holy grail and with all their successes, all the commentators are only used to good news. My Australian work colleagues are not that interested in hearing any bad news. They just assume that it will pass.
And then there are the players like Andrew "I'm going fishin" Symonds who think that it is unAustralian to be criticising the very out of form Matthew Hayden. Nobody doubts his or any other of the team members commitment. His current form just doesn't justify selection along with a few others on the team.
All this varnishing of the truth by the Aussie Commentariat is what is unAustralian. More straight talking would get some of the issues out in the public arena in a more honest manner.
Sounds like you have a national disaster on your hands. Long may it last. No prizes for guessing which team I support. Long may the Proteas success continue.
Sorry guys and girls, could not resist that.
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