The end of an era
Australian cricket's rise to ascendency co-incided with my passage into youth. Passionate about cricket as I was and Indian cricket in particular, I couldn't help but admire the ruthlessness Aussies introduced into the gentlemen's game. Soon they were snatching victories from impossible situations, ruthlessly stamping out oppositions, pouncing on any signs of weakness and bringing an aura of invincibility which for the first time in history surrounded a whole team rather than on talented individuals
Cricket had already seen a near invincible team in the West Indies who ruled the roost for years; but where West Indies depended on individual flair, personal agression and in your face bowling by intidimating giants, Australian agression was on a different level. They were ruthless and they were unforgiving. Such was their aura under the unflappable Steve Waugh that even Australian newbies were succesfully intidimating players in the opposition who had years of experience under their belt.
Apart from the winning attitude, Australian team was spoilt for riches. A spin wizard the likes of whom cricket had never seen before and will be twice blessed to see again, a medium paced bowler who redefined the term miserly and was at the same time intimidating, an up and coming number three batsman for all times and a captain who seemed almost bionic in his calm composure in difficult situations. We were made to believe that the Aussie domestic structure encouraged and had in the pipeline an endless assembly of talent. And when we saw the likes of Gilchrist and Hayden emerge, we could but nod our head in agreement. Surely a team which could afford to let someone of the caliber of Mike Hussey toil for years in its domestic structure could never be surpassed in terms of talent and results. An Aussie needed to earn his test cap, and only SWAT commandoes had a tougher qualification process
Years has passed since with 6 Ashes and 4 world cups in between. There's been a slight squeak in the wheels, the players in the Australian team seem human for the first time. They talk like Aussies and try to walk like Aussies but they are not the ones we learnt to fear and revere. Only Ponting alone seems to one of the last remanant of a lost legacy and even he has to occasionaly shake his head in disbelief at the passage of time and in the process the end of an era.
Turned out that we were misled. There is no endless procession of invincible Aussies ready to take over the world and trample the opponents under their feet. The current team accodomates the likes of Johnson and White, Clarke and Haddin, who no doubt great talents in themselves, are not a shade of what Australia always stood for in cricket. The Aussie empire finally lies in ruins like every empire in history. While it went strong we were led to believe that that would always be the case, Australia ruling cricket was destiny. With its fall we wonder why it did not happen earlier
When an empire falls, there is always a clamour for succesion and the rise of smaller kingdoms to fill the void. Such will be the case for years to come. No one team can stake its claim to be an undispted number one and the battle and competition to prove oneself will continue for years. Many will claim that the fall of Australia is good for cricket in general and the competion for no 1 will help the game of cricket. Only time will tell
Make no mistakes, Aussies are no West Indies and they will not lie dormant for long. But will any team in the history of this game I love ever be able to achieve the heights which Steve Waugh's team did? I somehow doubt that. The champion of champions were possible because of a myriad of factors coming together at the right time. Never again in the history of cricket might this be possible. Maybe years into the future we might see a team again which changes the course of the game with its approach and temprament, with its self-belief and ruthlessness, with its dominance and agressiveness, with unmatched talent and composure. Till then, with Ponting, I would like to silently reflect on the changing times and the end of an era.
Sometimes when a giant tree falls in a forest it makes a loud noise. But sometimes the end comes only with a wimper. Its only when we look back that we see one particular moment, one match as a defining moment of a paradigm shift. And this world cup and the Ashes before was such moments. The invincible Aussies will live long in our memories and record books. But the relentless march of time has another victim and no clear hier in sight
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