Ashes to ashes!

Australia's Ashes hopes are in tatters after its last-day capitulation at the Adelaide Oval allowed England to take a crucial 1-nil series lead. (Newspaper report 7 December 7, 2010)

There are fewer sweeter things in the cricketing world than witnessing the spectacle of a once arrogant, all-conquering and dominant Australian team sliding from near invincibility to vulnerability and humility.
I am pretty certain (well as certain as anyone can ever be in making predictions about the outcome of a yet to be concluded sporting fixture), that the current Ashes test series being played out between England and Australia is seeing this happen. The result of the second Test at Adelaide, a loss by an innings and 71 runs, (an absolute thumping in cricket terms) is Australia's first innings loss to England since the Boxing Day Test of 1986.
The hapless Aussies must now win at least two of the last three tests of the series to win back the Ashes. However, England only has to win any of the last three matches to make it impossible for Australia to win back the famous urn, as a drawn series would go in favour of the current holder: England.
Those who do not know or care about cricket are unlikely to understand the significance of what is currently happening in Australia. For those of us who enjoy the wonderful theatre that surrounds the game of cricket – or chess on grass for the uninitiated – this is as big as it gets.
For years, probably since the mid to late 1980s, Australia has been the most dominant force and consistent winning team in international cricket. The men who have donned the baggy green caps during this time have stood atop of the mountain of world cricket, mostly uncontested, dispatching would-be challengers with ruthless efficiency and gaining an arrogant swagger that only a champion team – which knows it is a champion team – can muster.
Over this time Australia has produced too numerous world-class players to count like: Border, Waugh, Boone, Marsh, Waugh (Steve), Taylor, Warne, Waugh (Mark – who was dubbed ‘Afghanistan’ ie: the forgotten war as it was then in the late ‘80s), Jones, McGrath, Gilchrist, Matthews, Healy etc, etc the list goes on and on! The fact was that Australia was so dominate during this period that, at their peak , they could have produced two – possibly three – teams at the same time and still will have beaten anyone else who played them.
But the halcyon days for Australian cricket look to be well and truly over. As Ricky Ponting’s current team look decidedly average – not as bad or talent –free as New Zealand’s black caps – and is facing an uphill battle against the in-form Poms.
I think this is a good thing for the game of cricket.
As a non-partisan follower of the current Ashes series, I believe the end of Australia’s two and bit decade of utter domination of world cricket is great for breathing new life into the noble art of battling willow on leather.
Normally, I wouldn’t be seen dead cheering for an English sporting team of any hue. However, in the case of the current Ashes series I am joining with the Barmy Army and loudly singing “Rule Britannia” as the Poms do a job on their Australian cricketing colleagues!