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This should be the end of Aussie dominance on International cricket.Filed under
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In 1985, Dennie Lillee, Rod Marsh and Greg Chappell retired the same day, same place and nearly same time as did Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer today in 2006. The day we are talking about is 5th day of SCG test match - the last of the Ashes series Australia and England play every 18 months.
Australia was just-a-good-cricket-team from 1985 to 1995, till they beat West Indies in West Indies and took over all of us..!! But the first question people might wonder, but no body has written about, is that the last name in today's threesome - Justin Langer, as great as the other two? Or he just retired at the same time, and thus got the limelight..!! And the answer is no. Justin Langer WAS not as greater opening batsmen as Australia might have seen in their International career, but he was the first soldier they were sending to counter the opposition for almost 11 years of their International dominance. Australians won most of their test matches because their attitude is to set the tone for the every test match they play. Their idea has been to bat first, back yourself to take a lead with whatever they score and then score as many as Shane Warne requires to take 10 more International wickets.  Justin Langer and Mathew Hayden has second most runs as opening partnerships (5655), averaged 51.88 and opened 113 times for Australia - 35 less than Gorden Greenidge and Desmond Hayens. When Hayden is someone who likes to take his time, Langer always hit the innitial boundaries and set the tone. Now when he won't be there - I am sure other piller like Hayden will fall soon and that's the opportunity we as the oppositions must work on. Not to mention the other two cricketing legends - Warne and McGrath. So what exactly is that we - the remaining 7 test match countries (India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England and West Indies) must talk about as Australia lose three huge cricketers..... Read how great they were?? I guess no. We must, from right now, concentrate at the holes in Aussie team and hope that it's never filled again. Not at least for 2 more World Cups. Let's have a different cricketing giant - whoever has the guts to be. Following is a plot-hole-preview of new-look Australian cricket team, to be playing against Zimbabwe in June this year. The Opening delima : Phil Jaques - the left handed hard hitting 26 year old has already been tried at International level. He is in competetion with Chirs Rogers - 2 years older but yet another left hander. Another buzz is that Michael Hussey might jump up the order. But very soon, I assume, Australians will have to find the replacement for Hayden as well.... So at a time when fight-for-opening-slot starts down-under, we (the opposition) must trick out every newcommer and see to it that they find new opening pair as late as possible. If not never. Who'll spin the ball now : I mentioned earlier the Australian attitude to win test matches - bat first and let Spin Wizard take wickets on last day. But their won't be any Shane Warne to play that role from now on. Which means that you see off the new ball and run making should be easy later on.  That's why Australians are looking to draft Shane Watson - the all rounder into their team. They must be scared of Ricky Ponting running out of bowling tricks during a tense test match, as Stuart MacGill, Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey make their real-Australian debuts. We, the opposition must make sure we dominate the lesser known bowler with softer balls..!! Trouble in the middle order : Demien Martyn said bye bye in the middle of Ashes 2006. Andrew Symonds is in their because he is a brilliant fielder and has the confidence to make runs on Aussie pitches. But a test match on Sub-continent pitch must test him. And then you have Ponting's burden to make all the runs. And then some more, because his bowling is now inexperienced. If you ask me - I really see an Aussie middle-order-collapse in very near future. The faster men : Jason "the double century making night watchman" Gillespie is not coming back. Glenn McGrath has said bye bye and Brett Lee becomes a typical either-short-or-overpitch fast bowler every now and then. The only fast man Australia have found is Stuart Clark. So he will be taking the new ball with Lee for quite some time now - but what after that? Mitchell Johnson demolished India because Kinrara pitch in Malaysia offered huge assistance with new white ball on colder nights. We are yet so see how Johnson reacts to dead pitches in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Shaun Tait has pace, but also the tendency to brake down time and again. He rarely plays a full season and spends more time in  the gym
than on the ground.... So, they will fall on Ben Hilfenhaus
- the 6 feet 2 inches fast bowler, who after a long time, might
represent Australia in Pace department from Tasmania. He might also get
the backing of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who also hails from the same state.Sure all the above faster/younger bowlers have talents. But how long will that talent take to flourish? and how much we opposition will utilize it - will be the factor now. The mind-behind-bars is gone too : No one noticed but John Buchanan has been Australian coach since 1999. He must be a man who knows every single cricketer Internationally, and surely is a master at finding their minus points. If ever there is role of a coach with International cricket team, which I personally feel does, losing John Buchanan must be a setback for Australia after the World Cup. In other words - a blessing for we, the opposition. Who'll keep the wickets : They have alreay tried Brad Haddin in ODI's in the typical Australian manner. Even Gilchirst started his career as ODI wicketkeeper  as Ian Healy played test matches.But it's also true that Brad Haddin is yet to prove his similarities to the greatest wicket keeper of all time, and Gilchrist is 35 now. Both keeping and batting must start to show it's toll now and that's the time for us to get him. One injury and they will be forced to find another test match wicket keeper/batsman, who surely will not be as good as Gilchrist is/was..!! The great Aussie attitude : As a cricket writer - you always write little favourable towards your team, but Australian newspersons and bloggers always looked at the opposition their boys were against - and hoped they see a contest this time. I listen to every word a commentator has to say (that's my job), and have always amazed at the JOY those Aussie commentators - Ian Healy, Ian Chappell, Riche Benaud, Billy Lawry, Tony Greig and now Michael Slater had whenever an Australian wicket fell. Whereas our Indian commentators like Sunil Gawaskar, Ravi Shastri, Harsha Bhogle, Sanjay Manjrekar and others CRY with pain with every Indian wicket going down. There is nothing wrong in Indian commentators, but it's the confidence of Australian commentators and their supporters that their team will come back, that we other cricketing people miss. And will never understand till our teams start dominating everywhere they play. Having said that - from the next test match Australia plays - their supporters will have a new aspect to concentrate on - how good the new three replacements are?? Supporters are the biggest pull a famous person or a sportsperson has. At a time when all Indian news channels make programs on how to drop Sehwag and include Ganguly (in other words, put pressure on our own team), Aussie media had only praise for their team for 11 straight years and thus, their team's confidence never shaked. They always concentrated on next trophy to win, rather than whom to drop and whom to pick. Now when Aussie supporters have a new attraction, we (the opposition) must make sure it's their distraction. I am glad that after hopeless Zimbabwe and Sri Lankan tigers, it's my Indian cricket team who will test this new Australian cricket team in a 4 test match Border-Gawaskar trophy in December. 2007 is a World Cup year with Caribbean Gala and first twenty20 Championship in South Africa, but I am sure test match cricket will be it's best as we will watch sub-continent giants try to demolish New Australian team in 10 months time..!! Photo Quiz : Identify Cricketers | Pictures : Cricketers Wife & Girlfriends Related ArticlesExclusives
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