| Warriors vs Whiners |
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| Written by Jaideep | |
| Tuesday, 05 December 2006 | |
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Australia vs England 2nd Ashes test Responding to Ravi’s lament. Just want to say one thing – at high school, did you by any chance know a whiny, xenophobic bunch of snots, who cribbed at the drop of a hat when they visited anyone else’s home, often over-ate wildly, had upset stomachs and then blamed the host’s quality of food? Because that’s how touring English teams have been for a while, at least in the subcontinent (Mike Gatting, anyone?). The whole Trescothic nonsense (and the Thorpe episodes before that) should tell you that the team is still in the throes of those glorious tantrums even in these so-called professional times. And I was dismissive of the English team primarily because of this. I can’t imagine senior members of any other cricket team behaving like that, least of all Australia. It suggests a completely fragile state of mind, and that is how English cricket is today. Last year’s Ashes win was a completely freak victory when most of the team upped the intensity levels and coincidentally found form together. Besides, Vaughan is their best captain in a couple of decades. Not to forget, some of the key Australian players on that tour did not get their act together (much like India in their home series against Australia in 2004). These things happen, and one should also keep in mind the narrow margins of victories for England in both the tests. For all the top-class talent England has, they don’t have the fight, not this team anyway. There was nothing surprising about this beating, and it would take something special from England to prevent a 4-1 or even a 5-0 battering. Hats off to Australia, as usual. It’s in their DNA to fight, and as far as their behaviour is concerned, for every surly Ponting or loutish Warne, there is a thoughtful Steve Waugh, a genial Gilchrist and a gentlemanly Mark Taylor. Ponting and Warne pronouncement that this was the most amazing test match they have played is strange, given that India won an almost identical test match against them at the same venue 2 years ago. Not to speak of Kolkata 2001 – a definite contender for the greatest test match of all time. In all the hype of the Ashes, it is forgotten that India is pretty much the only side that has challenged Australia consistently in test matches since 2001 (emphatically the opposite in one-dayers though). And if it is about Australia winning, then surely this is a far superior victory from an impossible situation against a far better bowling attack. Meanwhile, Indian cricket fans have sleepless nights about the coming test series in South Africa. They could take solace in the fact that India’s test record is far better than their ODI record in the last 5 years (despite reaching the World Cup final in 2003). If Dravid recovers and is back at the helm, things will get better – there is enough precedence to encourage that faith still. |
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