After 85 years

Warwick Armstrong would be a very happy man. His Australian Cricket side had achieved a whitewash against England in the Ashes in 1920-21. Now, in 2006-07, Ricky Ponting's Australian team have achieved a 5-0 whitewash of England by winning the 5th and final test at Sydney. Other than the funfare associated with this historic achievement, it also brings sadness. Three of Australia's best players Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne are retiring from Test Cricket. They have joined Damien Martyn, a reliable Middle order bat, into the Sunset.

This series will mark the passing of the torch, where the older generation makes way to the younger and equally dominating set of players. Wether the new generation can take up the mantles of Martyn, Langer, McGrath and Warne will be eagerly watched. But, is it time to write the Beginning of the Aussie decline? The answer at this point of time would be NO. The chances of Australia going the West Indies way might seem very distant. The current Australian team has been compared to the Great West Indies Cricket team of the 1970's and 80's. The only difference being that Australia in today's time have ruthlessly conquered any nation that has crossed its path, either abroad or at home.

The present success of the Aussie team is the Tough Mental makeup and the excellent sporting facilities and infrastructure which the country boasts. The tradition of Sports Culture runs very deep in the Australian Psyche, hence they have achieved success in other sports also, barring Cricket. The Cricketing facilities in Australia are enviable and this is the reason why Aussie Cricket is dominating. The toughness aspect of this team has been demonstrated time and again to be remarkable. For instance, when the Aussie team toured South Africa in 2006, they had scored 434 in an One day International! South Africa scored 438 and clinched the series in what was deemed the greatest One Day International in History. After that incident, many other teams would be psychologically down. But, this team bounced back and immediately completed a 3-0 Whitewash in the Tests.

Not barring the fact that Australia have won the Cricket World Cup 3 times, it is proof of their ability and almost superhuman toughness. The factor of Intimidation is what made the Aussie team imposing on any team. Players like Glenn McGrath were proof of that. His very aggression translated in his bowling, and his accuracy will make him the Benchmark to which other bowlers in future generations will adher. Even the King of Spin Shane Warne was a genius in his own right. He produced deliveries which would be remebered for centuries. His "Ball of the Century" Barring, his tally of over 700 wickets and 1000 international wickets will be acknowledged forever in History.

Although the Old Guard has vanished, this Australian team has not vanished into the Sunset. With the coming of the new younger generation into the national team, the Sunrise of a new and better Australian team is on the horizon. The fact of the world is that Mighty nations do fall and struggle in the future. But, in the case of Australian Cricket, the wait could be a lot longer