Archives

From the Press Box by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

You can love 'em, hate 'em or despise 'em. But they are undoubtedly the best in the world. No matter what anyone says of 'em the Australians have proved to the world that they have no equal in both forms of the game of cricket, One-day or Test. Ricky Ponting and his men showed what total commitment and hard work could achieve.

Ponting said Australia had shown great depth and character to win the tournament just a year after the Waugh twins, skipper Steve and Mark, were dumped from the lineup, and after losing two of the original squad members (Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie) to injuries and other issues.

That they won the World Cup without two of their most important bowlers Warne and Gillespie speaks volumes of their arsenal of players who are on hand to take over at a moment's notice.

Ponting said the contributions of Andy Bichel and Andrew Symonds was sensational. Expected to be bits and pieces players, Bichel and Symonds produced match-winning performances when Australia appeared to be in the doldrums. "It says a lot. We've been really tested through this World Cup.

We had a fair share of injuries and the Warnie issue as well," he said. Throughout the 2003 World Cup, the Australians played and acted as a thoroughly professional unit and whatever they did there was an air of confidence which no team could match, although India were the nearest to it and thoroughly deserved their place in the final.

But the manner in which the Australians dominated and finished off India in the final by a comprehensive margin of 125 runs at the Wanderers makes one wonder whether Ponting's side can be beaten at all. The Aussies showed no chinks in their armour even when the chips are down and were able to come out of tight situations so easily and win, which spoke volumes of their grit and determination to fight it out in every game no matter what.

Ponting's side has a manifest confidence, swagger and athleticism which other teams lack. It has led to analysts and fellow competitors deploring their domination of one-day and Test cricket and moaning about the sport being diminished. Ponting believes that his team should serve as an inspiration to others. "The gap depends on the rest of the world," said Ponting, suggesting that it was up to the other Test-playing countries to catch up.

India looked the only team that was capable of giving them a good run and expectations were high that they could put an end to Australian domination in the one-day game, but in the crucial final their seam bowlers who had bowled so magnificently to get them there failed disastrously when it mattered most.

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was magnanimous in his gesture. He did not criticise his bowlers, but admitted a more superior side had outclassed his team.

But what was disturbing was that Ganguly didn't speak with any conviction when asked how the Australian win machine can be stopped. "Somebody has to beat them. How they do it depends on the team. The only way to do it is to play better than them on that day," said Ganguly. But the Australians have dispelled the long held belief that on any given day any side can be beaten by winning 17 matches on the trot.

Not since Clive Lloyd's West Indies side of the late 1970s and early 1980s has one side dominated cricket the way Australia have of late. The only team who has beaten the Australians in recent times is Sri Lanka. They lost to them in the semi-final of the ICC Champions trophy at the R. Premadasa Stadium last September and again at Sydney in January this year. On both occasions the Australians were done in by spin. It seems the only way to beat them is by preparing a slow pitch suited for spin.

In the World Cup however, the Australians simply swept aside Sri Lanka twice without much ado. But in the second meeting they struggled on a slow pitch, but hit back through their fast bowlers to rout the Sri Lankan batting. The Australians haven't lost since January 9, to Sri Lanka in Sydney and their 17 wins include 11 straight wins in the 2003 World Cup. Ponting said the streak showed no signs of ending. "We took things to a new level," he said. "The 17 straight wins doesn't mean much to us.

What does mean a lot to us is the standards we set for our side, and they are very high." The lofty standards Australia has set for themselves puts the other countries way behind, but Australian coach John Buchannan thinks otherwise.

He said: "I don't subscribe to the fact we have taken the game to a totally new level, as there are lots of things we can do. At the moment, we do most things everyone else does, but we do them a little bit better and more consistently and there is no question we can get better".

While Australia won the biggest prize in cricket history, South Africa's status as an international venue of repute was well established. The security, support and organisation were outstanding.

www.crescat.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager