The capitulation by Australia started in the Sydney Test. Until then the Australian cricketers were supremely confident that they are unbeatable and hence believed whatever they did was correct.
However, the boorishness displayed by them during Sydney Test drew the ire of the cricket aficionados around the world. It was clear then that the Australian team was so insular that they failed to hear the silence that celebrated their whoops of joy.
The death knell was rung when their own compatriots spewed vitriol over their behaviour. To their dismay, they were taken to task for what until then they were lauded for, i.e., their hard-nosed professionalism. Australia as a nation berated their behaviour.
A disappointed Ponting and gang were asked to look in the mirror and what they saw shattered their confidence. What they thought was righteous behaviour revealed itself as arrogance, what they thought was gamesmanship revealed itself as cheating, what they thought was their own good clean fun (sledging) showed itself as uncouth behaviour.
Being intelligent men, they disliked what the mirror showed them. Diffidence replaced their confidence, when others raised their voices; they lost their tongue, when others made bold and looked them in their eye they blinked. From then on, it has been a tale of a team that lost its way.
So Sydney was where it all started and the Indians the first to strike the blow. The South Africans have only grounded the rubble.
Image by Axle
Cricket News Online Live
7 comments:
and iam reveling in their demise ;)
Philip,
Me too!:)
To put it in a nutshell they have become like west Indies after Clive Lyoyd era.
to the 30th of dec, 2008. cheers ott.
R,
Exactly. However, the Australians have a number of good players in the wings. They need to bring in some fresh blood and dump their current captain.
Cheers NC.
call ist the Sydney chutney.
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