We shouldn't be reading too much into the results of Twenty20 and Somerset match. However, the upset by Bangladesh, I must say, is a major kick up their back sides to the Aussies. I guess the Aussies treated that one too as a practice match and experimented by batting first, but it backfired big time. All credit to the Tigers who have chased 250 really really well. Kudos to Ashraful, Bashar. Not to forget Aftab Ahmed's six and Rafique's fours. I think Harmison struck some telling blows with that one over. Full marks to Hussey and Clarke for helping them reach a competitive total. Australia seemed to be in control till they were blinded by Pietersen's blitzkrieg. Aussies have to get their act together pretty fast or else England and Bangladesh would be playing the finals of NatWest series!! I don't think that's an ideal way to enter into the test series.
Australia's performance in England in the last week must have caused immense embarassment to all those who declared Australia to be an invincible cricket team since last 10 years. They are a good team, at best the most competitive of the current international cricket teams who win many times only because they make less number of errors than their opposition. But Australian media and cricket pundits started propagating the myth that they are invincible. Just consider the fact that Australia couldn't win a test match in India for 30 years after 1969. The first test win for Australia on Indian soil came in 1998 and that too after the test series was already lost by Australia. The only team which can be called invincible was West Indies of the late 1970s.
the aussies are having a poor time.but they are an awesome side,they should recover as the tour progresses.its a matter of time punter gets going and the bowlers start firing.yeah,england will be a tough nut to crack,but mind u english fans,the aussies will roar back.
This was a really shabby piece of writing. What Australia does is its business. Why is the author worried about their strategy with retiring batsmen in the middle of games. Again, suspending Symonds is their business. They want to punish guys for indiscipline - like they punished Warne. Only in India, can seniors get away with whatever they do. Finally, how can the author forget that Bangladesh has beaten Pakistan and India too in one day matches?
Overall, a disappointing piece. Rediff should only post articles that are analystically sound and factually correct.
