Silence is not golden

The end of 2008 couldn't come quickly enough for the Australian Cricket Team. From a familiar position on Day 2 of the WACA Test Match (and the MCG Test Match for that matter), the Aussies couldn't seal the deal, failing mostly with the ball, but also with the bat, particularly in the 2nd innings in Melbourne, where even Ricky Ponting's 99 was disappointing, given he got out to such an obvious set-up.

What was more disappointing about Ponting's dismissal, even more disappointing than how it happened, was his reaction. He wandered off the pitch a beaten man. It was the same reaction that came from a brave Brett Lee when he heard Billy Doctrove call no-ball after he bowled Neil McKenzie late on the fourth evening. They just seemed defeated.

Watching the DVD of the first 16-match winning streak enjoyed by the Australian Test Team from October 1999 until March 2001, I noticed Ponting's reaction when he was out for 197 in Perth versus Pakistan, playing a similar shot. He was ropable with himself, screaming "no" loudly as he walked angrily off the ground. That was the reaction of a man not defeated, and not satisfied. Ponting reaction was more like a surrender in Melbourne, despite the fact he had made 98 fewer runs. He had given it his best shot, and almost looked comfortable with the fact that it wasn't good enough.

Another astonishing thing I read during the Boxing Day Test Match was an article by Robert Craddock in the Hun. He reported than when Graeme Smith, the South African captain, walked off after batting in Perth, he couldn't believe how quiet it was. Very little chatter, and certainly no talk directed at unsettling the batsman.

It is not a long bow to draw to say that this all goes back to match in Sydney 12 months ago. That match caused a national outcry, but not at the man who had made a racial slur, or his team, but ours, for playing the game while taking no prisoners.

Andrew Symonds had nicked a ball to the keeper and not walked. What terrible form to rely on the umpire to do his job! Imagine an AFL footballer throwing a lunging foot at a ball, getting close, the ball bouncing through the goals, and then the footballer telling the umpire he didn't get a foot to it? No, one expects better behaviour from a cricketer, although there is more money involved and also the little question of national pride.

There was no great ourpouring of approval when Symonds got a howler of a decision in Adelaide and walked off the field without comment or visable dissent. Of course, everything that is wrong with Symonds' cricket career can also be traced back to the New Year's Test Match of 2008.

The massive media reaction last year has resulted in the Aussies having their verbal tail between their legs. I can't imagine a Steve Waugh team reacting the same way; he would have called a spade a spade, said something about being paid to win games of cricket, and carried on as if the fuss had never happened.

Since Michael Clarke bowled Australia to victory late on the Sunday afternoon, Australia has won only four test matches, all against the West Indies or New Zealand, and lost five, all against India or South Africa. Like it or not, the Aussies are at best third in the world at the moment.

Sure, there have been some personnel problems. We can't find a quality spinner. Fast bowlers keep getting hurt and changing, but during the first 16 game winning streak, Australia played McGrath, Fleming, Muller, Kasprowicz, Lee, Bichel & Gillespie. Two sides of quicks, with a 12th Man thrown in. During the 2nd 16 game winning streak, Australia played quicks McGrath, Lee, Kasprowicz, Clark, Gillespie & Mitchell Johnson. You need a good squad of players.

Shane Warne said before the Sydney match that the Aussies bowlers need to recapture some aggression on the field. That could well start with the verbal aggression, although it is hard to see newbies Bollinger or Siddle, or the seemingly patholigically friendly (and incredibly lucky) Andrew McDonald doing that. Johnson has been growing into that role, and he looms as one of the three most vital members of that team, along with captain and vice-captain.

In the final analysis, the players are paid to play and win. When they won the Sydney match 12 months ago, it was almost like they had caused some sort of international incident. Firstly, it was that awful little Indian who caused the "incident". However, it was Australian heads that were being called for. If Ponting should be sacked, it should be for poor captaining, not waiting for the umpire's decision, pressing home every advantage he can, and verballing his opponents. The Australians need to forget about the events of Sydney 2008, and once again make a cricket field full of Australians an uncomfortable place to be.