WHAT a performance. If there was any doubting we are witnessing one of the greatest sides of all time it's gone now.
There was a time not so long ago when Australia were considered a less than great team on the road.
But not now. Yesterday was the nailing of a spectacular grand slam. Australia have now beaten all nations the last time they have met them away from home, an amazing effort.
From Lord's to Lahore, Galle to Georgetown, on greentops, dustbowls and a dozen varieties in between, from cool Manchester to choking Chennai, they have been the all-surface champions of the world.
Australia went with their strengths and their strengths were good enough.
But it needed one of the great team efforts to pull it off.
Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Darren Lehmann may not have had spectacular series with the bat but every man did something.
Even 12th man Brett Lee ran and dived like his life depended on it in the third Test.
All of Australia's top seven batsmen scored a half century. There were nine in all from the batsmen plus four centuries.
Compare this to India who had just the one century and three half centuries from their miserably misfiring batsmen. It is astonishing to think Michael Clarke (151) scored more in his debut innings than VVS Laxman (31), Sourav Ganguly (45) and Rahul Dravid (60) have in the series.
Australia's bowlers were superb.
One weak link was all it would have needed for the chain to break.
Significantly, Australia gave their part-time bowlers just 13 overs in the first three Tests.
Captain Gilchrist just kept on rotating big guns Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne and they just kept firing.
India were showered with wave upon wave of unrelenting pressure. Great pace attacks normally hunt in pairs. To have three top-class men fit and in form at the same time was a godsend.
One injury or bad day could have brought the whole thing undone but every man held firm. Australia controversially left Stuart MacGill out of their team but he would not have got a game here. This was the tour of the dot ball and he was simply too great a risk.
No praise is too high for Australia's fast men. Glenn McGrath, when we all sensed he might be finished, ran in as hard as he has for years and set the tone in the first Test. Jason Gillespie simply wore India down with bounce and precision and Michael Kasprowicz, with reverse swing and off-cut, was a constant threat.
Source: Fox Sports Australia
There was a time not so long ago when Australia were considered a less than great team on the road.
But not now. Yesterday was the nailing of a spectacular grand slam. Australia have now beaten all nations the last time they have met them away from home, an amazing effort.
From Lord's to Lahore, Galle to Georgetown, on greentops, dustbowls and a dozen varieties in between, from cool Manchester to choking Chennai, they have been the all-surface champions of the world.
Australia went with their strengths and their strengths were good enough.
But it needed one of the great team efforts to pull it off.
Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Darren Lehmann may not have had spectacular series with the bat but every man did something.
Even 12th man Brett Lee ran and dived like his life depended on it in the third Test.
All of Australia's top seven batsmen scored a half century. There were nine in all from the batsmen plus four centuries.
Compare this to India who had just the one century and three half centuries from their miserably misfiring batsmen. It is astonishing to think Michael Clarke (151) scored more in his debut innings than VVS Laxman (31), Sourav Ganguly (45) and Rahul Dravid (60) have in the series.
Australia's bowlers were superb.
One weak link was all it would have needed for the chain to break.
Significantly, Australia gave their part-time bowlers just 13 overs in the first three Tests.
Captain Gilchrist just kept on rotating big guns Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne and they just kept firing.
India were showered with wave upon wave of unrelenting pressure. Great pace attacks normally hunt in pairs. To have three top-class men fit and in form at the same time was a godsend.
One injury or bad day could have brought the whole thing undone but every man held firm. Australia controversially left Stuart MacGill out of their team but he would not have got a game here. This was the tour of the dot ball and he was simply too great a risk.
No praise is too high for Australia's fast men. Glenn McGrath, when we all sensed he might be finished, ran in as hard as he has for years and set the tone in the first Test. Jason Gillespie simply wore India down with bounce and precision and Michael Kasprowicz, with reverse swing and off-cut, was a constant threat.
Source: Fox Sports Australia
Comments
Post a Comment