There was really no surprise that the Australians beat the World team quite comprehensively in the Super Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. What was surprising was the ease with which they did it, for the World team were full of superstars and it was expected that even if they were not a unit they would still play for individual pride and so would be a competitive side.
It didn’t happen as the Australians were ruthlessly efficient in the way they played and with the Ashes’ loss still ringing in their ears they were out to prove a point or two.
The World team were handicapped by some of them coming fresh from the off season and some had less than competitive matches and some like the Englishmen were a bit tired as well as a satiated lot after the Ashes win. It does take a little more time for a team to gel and to work as a unit and the World team didn’t have that time — thanks to the tight international schedules that are the norm in today’s cricketing calendar.
The two World teams that I have been part of have had at least two to three weeks together before the real Tests started and so were in a better position to play than this team. Predictably, the players were taken apart by the Aussie media who wanted the games to be a little more competitive so that they could say that their team were back to being the best in the world and so many unflattering comments were made about the World team’s stars. The Aussie media would have been happier if the two Englishmen in the World team had been abject failures, for then they could have said that the English are good only in their conditions. Unfortunately for them, both Harmison and Flintoff, though not as brilliant as they were in the Ashes series, were still good enough to be the star performers for the World team in the Super Test.
From the Indian point of view all eyes were on Rahul Dravid especially as he was appointed the Indian skipper just before the Test began. The Australians see it as a victory for Greg Chappell, for Saurav Ganguly is not very popular here as the Australians can’t forget how their team were deprived of going on to more than 16 consecutive Test wins by the phenomenal turnaround engineered by the very, very special innings played by Laxman, and his massive partnership with Rahul Dravid and then the off-spin of Harbhajan taking India to an improbable victory. So anything that puts Ganguly in a bad light is relished in Australia more so after the public spat with Chappell.
There’s of course every possibility that the Prince of Calcutta may make a comeback to the Indian side even though it may not be as the captain of the team. With over 10,000 runs in one -day cricket he has a wealth of experience and away from the cares of captaincy he may well have a lot more to contribute to Indian cricket. He has to show good form in domestic cricket though, to be back in consideration, although looking at the composition of the team, there are some who have done well in recent domestic tournaments but who have been seen as not yet ready for international cricket when they have played for India. Luckily for them they are the flavor of the month still and so get the opportunities which have been denied to others before them. Rahul Dravid will have to quickly show his style of leading, for in Indian cricket honeymoons seldom last long and though the general mood was for Ganguly to go unless the stylish batsman from Bangalore gets results fast there will be some reaction which may not necessarily be positive. The season is going to be a tough one with the Lankans coming first for seven one dayers followed by the South Africans for a five match series and then the Lankans coming back for Tests.
