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Except for comeback man Jason Gillespie, the Aussie
bowling line-up - till not long back the most
feared - looked pedestrian. This, despite the
presence of Brett Lee, Shane Warne and Stuart
Clark, who put in an impressive Man of the Series
performance in the preceding series against the
Proteas. But the absence of McGrath was clearly
felt even against a weak opposition like
Bangladesh.
Stuart Clark is tipped to be the next big thing in
Australian cricket. But it would be unfair to
except him to fit into the giant boots of McGrath.
Of course, Clark proved to be a more than adequate
replacement in the series against South Africa. But
the fact remains that bowlers like 'Pigeon' come
once in a generation. Thankfully for Australia,
Gillespie has made a successful return to
international cricket - though it seems more of a
consolation.
The main worry remains as to who would replace the
ageing generation of Aussie superstars. And also
how long the present bunch of players must carry on
their national duties, considering the tight
schedule of international matches these days. The
question has assumed all the more importance after
Australia's Ashes debacle. Even lately though
Australia's performance continues to be consistent,
there have been enough signs that their domination
of world cricket isn't guaranteed any longer. At
least not in the shorter version of the game.
South Africa proved this when they chased down the
now famous world record score of 434 on way to
their 3-2 series victory. This game could turn out
to be a defining one for world cricket as it should
make other major teams believe that Australia are
no longer unassailable. They did come back like
true champions in the Test series but the tour of
subsequent tour of Bangladesh exposed their
failings once again.
Player burnout can be attributed as one of the
factors, more so with this team because most of the
experienced cricketers in the side are past 30.
Adam Gilchrist has been the biggest sufferer. Once
having an incredible average of close to 60 in Test
cricket, his consistency has come down drastically.
It required a break from the rigours of
international cricket to rejuvenate him. And it
came in very handy as he's beginning to look lethal
once again. In fact, it required a match-winning
effort from Gilchrist to turn around Australia's
fortunes in the Fatullah Test against Bangladesh.
Sadly for Australian cricket, he's not going to be
around for too long. Neither are the others like
Hayden, Langer and Martyn. Even as Ricky Ponting
seems to be getting better with age, Michael Clarke
has failed to live up to the promise he showed in
India on his debut. While his one-day performances
have been satisfactory, this man, who was compared
to Mark Waugh in his earlier days, is yet to earn
his stripes in Test cricket, if one goes by recent
performances
Not long from now, Aussie cricket will enter a
phase wherein they will have to take the field
minus most of their prominent stars. And it would
be intriguing to watch whether the next set of
cricketers are able to carry on the great legacy of
Australian cricket. West Indies failed to do so
once the likes of Haynes, Greenidge, Richards and
the menacing fast bowlers retired. In fact, to this
day, the team is in a state of rebuilding. It can
be safely assumed that Australian cricket wouldn't
meet with such a fate considering the excellent
standard of their domestic structure.
As of today, Aussies are still the numero uno side
in world cricket. The Poms - their closest
competitor- have been rather inconsistent since
tasting success in the Ashes. But whether the world
champions manage to maintain that halo of
invincibility in the years to come remains to be
seen. |