Tests Through Time
New world order
Australia dominated through the latter part of the 1990s and into the first years of the new millennium. Nothing stood between them at that point, be it the Ashes, Frank Worrell Trophy or the World Cup.
After Steve Waugh called winning in India the ‘final frontier’, the Adam Gilchrist-Ricky Ponting partnership cracked that wall in 2004 and were the undisputed world leaders in cricket.
The summer of 2005 was the first time they were given a real shake-up when an England side coolly led by the graceful Michael Vaughan pipped them 2-1 in a memorable series.
From Ricky Ponting’s bleeding cheek at Lord’s, Andrew Flintoff’s hostile spell and Geraint Jones’s catch down the leg side in the thriller at Edgbaston to Ashley Giles’s heroics in Nottingham, England were on top of Australia for the first time since the mid-1980s. Kevin Pietersen came of age in this Ashes with his monumental 158 in the final Test at the Oval, the signature of a series that was garnished with great quality.
Australia immediately regrouped and their response was a 5-0 thrashing, a snatching back of the urn. But at the end of the 2006 series, some of the legends hung their boots with Shane Warne leading the way, closely followed by Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn (who retired after the third Test).
India came to Australia next summer, the 2007-08 season, and though they started off poorly, fought back in the second Test in Sydney. But the game was marred by Andrew Symonds’s accusations of racism on Harbhajan Singh and later, the umpiring blemishes of Steve Bucknor, with all the decisions going against India. Australia were accused of cheating by then captain Anil Kumble. As governments got involved, the Test went on and India gave a fine riposte with a fine win at Perth. After a drawn final Test, the battle lines were drawn and Australia’s castle was cracking at a rapid pace.
With only Matthew Hayden and Ponting and a fast waning Brett Lee left from that dream team, Australia faced the rampant South Africans. After a seesaw first three innings at Perth in the first Test, the visitors needed an improbable 414 for victory. Centuries from skipper Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers paved the way with Ponting’s men clueless.
More drama followed at the MCG where Australia were all set to take a huge first innings lead, only to be thwarted by a late partnership by Dale Steyn and Jean-Paul Duminy. The pair added 180 for the ninth wicket and superbly gave South Africa the lead. Steyn completed 10 wickets in the game, Australia losing by nine wickets.
It was their first series defeat at home after 15 years. They won the final game but Smith’s heroics (batting with a broken hand) in the end showed the grit South Africa had arrived with in Australia.
That was the tipping point and Australia never recovered. They haven’t held the Ashes since the 2006-07 season after losing to England in 2009 and 2010-11 with Andrew Strauss, Flintoff and Graeme Swann heavily involved in the triumphs
The new world order is ruled almost equally by India, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and sometimes Australia but there’s no clear leader. But if history is proof, something big is around the corner.
-With The Daily Star input
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