Australia’s tour to England - It’s more than just a series - Opinion
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and England will renew their hostility at Lord’s today, amidst all the hype and hysteria that is expected to last till July 10, the five matches will more likely be a yardstick to differentiate the character of both teams in terms of talent, ability,
commitment, competence and distinction. Yet one has to admire the subtlety of merits both drew in bowling and batting, the stakes remaining high at both ends.
Until recently, the Aussies were the touchstone of international success with their heads and shoulders high enough to dwarf their opponents. Those were the days when the points table had an Australian hegemony, while the English on the
other hand were lying low, lacking a conscious awareness of being amongst the worst ODI sides in the world.
Even though today, the Aussies are still standing at the top, but it’s the oppositions which outgrew a normal cricketing growth rate in recent years. With http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 becoming increasingly competitive, the contest has become intense,
while the points difference considerably reduced.
The Australians have arrived on English shores as world http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-Donald-Topley-c93395, but England could well be so if they impose a 5-0 rout on the visitors. Both teams would try to put each other through the mangle to dump the other out of the equation.
The tourists offer a bowling attack only meant to intimidate the hosts into oblivion, but gone were the days when an English batsman would lose his sleep fretting over the sight of an in-coming Aussie pacer. The hosts have the same prescription for the tourists,
to counter a pace attack with an equally competent bowling quartet or to put it simply, a bouncer for a bouncer.
For a long time, England suffered due to a long list of medium-pacers who always ended up putting more pressure on its batsmen, even possessing names like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/David-Ivon-Gower-c52869 in their batting lineup, all of
whom oozed class. The English couldn’t become a force to be reckoned with, mainly because of its feeble bowling attack, forcing a critic to say, "English pace bowlers are making the helmet go out of fashion." Not anymore!
Today http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 can boast of one of the best pace batteries, topping the ranking charts in Tests and a gradual rising trajectory in the ODIs. Captain Cook will look forward to rule the world, even if Warney says that English over-confidence is bordering on
arrogance.
Captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377.
If it’s a re-invention of faith for the English, it’s quite the opposite for the Aussies. The visitors haven’t recovered from the loss of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918 and an out-of-form-and favor, Ponting.
The Australian reliance on youth, more than experience is tantamount to the fact, that even if the talent pool is not drying up, it’s at least, not at a standard as it was in the past.
The Australian style of play lacks the aggression of its glorious past and while the players are beginning to grow more out of depth, the lack of Aussie belligerence could be disconcerting against an English side which is riding high on self-belief.
It’s no Ashes nor it would be a ‘Clash of the Titans’, yet both teams would have everything on the line, the stakes are high and so are the hopes of both cricketing giants, where one would see if it could carry-on a legacy, while the other would want to
make one of its own.
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