SYDNEY, 18 October 2005 — Australia beat a disappointing World XI by 210 runs yesterday to complete a 4-0 sweep, prompting cricket officials to hastily shelve plans to stage another series in four years time.
The Australians wrapped up the six-day Super Test with two and a half days to spare after the World XI collapsed to be all out for just 144 chasing 355 for victory.
Australia’s leg spinners Shane Warne (3-48) and Stuart MacGill (5-43) wreaked havoc on a Sydney Cricket Ground pitch turning at alarming angles but their fine performances could not hide the lackluster effort from a world team that had vowed to improve on last week’s three one-day defeats in Melbourne.
“To win a test match against the Rest of the World, who are the best players in the world, is extremely satisfying,” Australia captain Ricky Ponting said.
“I was a little bit surprised at how easy it ended today but not through the course of the game.”
South African captain Graeme Smith, one of seven World XI players who made a duck in the match, said the Australians always had the advantage because they were playing for their own country.
“You grow up dreaming of playing for your country. It’s instilled in you from day one,” Smith said.
“But when you come here, you don’t really know the guys you’re playing with. You lose that 20 percent. Where your country is do-and-die, maybe this isn’t do-or-die for everyone.”
ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said he was disappointed the World XI players had not performed to their usual standards and confirmed plans to stage the series again in four years had now been scrapped.
“When we set this series up the questions we asked was can a team of champions beat a champion team and I think we saw the answer comprehensively,” he said.
“There were many things about this that were under our control and we very happy about those things but the performance of the (World XI) team was not under our control and we share the players’ disappointment at their performance.”
The ICC had started the fourth day yesterday already in deep trouble at 25-2 and their prospects of reaching their target vanished in the first hour. Warne dismissed new India captain Rahul Dravid for 23 and then Brian Lara for 36, both caught behind after being given a lesson in wrist spin by the master himself.
The tourists lost a third wicket before lunch when Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-haq was unluckily adjudged lbw to paceman Brett Lee before the last five wickets tumbled for the addition of 31 runs in the middle session.
MacGill, who was controversially left out of the Ashes Tests, added ammunition to his claims that Australia should have played two leg spinners in England when he dismissed Andrew Flintoff for the second time in the match before mopping up the last three wickets in just five balls.
“This is no compensation for losing the Ashes but as far as we’re concerned that’s all long behind us now and we’re starting afresh,” Ponting said.
“We’ve set ourselves a bit of a standard now for the rest of the summer which hopefully we can live up to.
“I said to all the players going into the game that they are a very good side and this is a chance for us to prove how good a team we are and I think we’ve done that.”
