- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Many of the best teams in cricket history have made a point of targeting the opposition captain. A team’s skipper provides tactical leadership, sure, but his successes with bat or ball buoy also his colleagues.
The great Australian teams of the 1990s and 2000s famously recognised this and went after opposition captains with ferocity.
Legendary seamer Glenn McGrath put a price on their head. Express quick Brett Lee threatened to buffet him with bouncers. Shane Warne promised to toy with his mind and technique. Every fieldsman ensured the captain got a robust welcome to the crease.
Often this strategy bore fruit, not least because of the phenomenal skill they possessed to follow through on this. It was a major component of their uber-aggressive and ultra-successful approach to cricket.
A side with a labouring skipper is seen to be one ripe for the taking.
Well, that’s not always true. Over the past two years Australian cricket has had to cope with significant instability at the top.
The Australian Test team has endured some horrific troughs over that period while, for various reasons, they have had three different ODI captains – number one man Michael Clarke, deputy George Bailey and rising leader Steve Smith.
Yet none of that has curtailed the 50-over side, which has excelled to such an extent it is not only the number one ranked side in the world but strong and justified favourites to claim the upcoming World Cup on home soil.
From late January 2013 to now, they have won 28 and lost just 11 ODIs. Not only have they not relied upon one captain to steer them to victory but they haven’t leaned on a core group of stars either.
Renowned for constantly rotating their ODI players, Australia have used no less than 35 cricketers in the 50-over format over those past two years. In effect, they have employed three sides worth of different cricketers and yet still remained a dominant unit.
Clarke has barely played during that period due to his fragile body. Most teams would falter in the absence of their captain, a man who has almost 8000 runs at an average of 45 – the second best average in history among the top 30 runscorers in ODIs.
If that same side was also missing the world’s most fearsome pace bowler, a cricketer who elicits genuine terror from opposition batsmen, how could they possibly maintain a level of excellence? If that side is Australia then the answer is, “No problems mate”.
The Australians were without Clarke and left arm tyro Mitchell Johnson for most of the tri-series against heavyweights India and the rejuvenated England. Yet they cantered to triumph, winning four matches on the trot including a merciless demolition of England in the decider, a game that saw Johnson’s brutal return.
That success came on the back of a lopsided 4-1 series result against the much-hyped South Africans in November and a 3-0 series victory against the talented Pakistan in the UAE the previous month.
So, amid this recent period in which they’ve regularly been missing key players and have had constant uncertainty about their leadership, Australia still have won 11 of their past 12 games against either elite or very competitive sides.
Australia have developed such a culture of winning, fostered such expectations of success, that they remain formidable regardless of which 11 players take the field.
When key players like Clarke are unavailable, others step up and shine. Steve Smith battled for years to regain his ODI spot and, after being given the chance late last year, has been a revelation with the blade.
With Johnson resting up, beanpole quick Josh Hazlewood has ensured that the side was not obviously weakened. New players such as Smith and Hazlewood produce cricket befitting their generous talents no doubt in part because they are so confident in those around them.
Confidence breeds performance which in turn produces even greater assurance. This circular system of success has been maintained by the Australians no matter what obstacles have been lobbed in their way.
It’s why, even with doubts over the fitness of Clarke and key all-rounder James Faulkner, I still believe they’ll win the World Cup. I believe they’ll triumph because I know the players share my confidence. In ODIs, it’s the Australian way.