What’s the difference between excellence and achieving greatness? How the wheel has turned. Gone are the days when Australia’s Test team were feared or when they stood firm and dominated their visitors on home soil.
Despite leaving their mark on opposite sides of the world, in months and years to come, both Australia’s Test team and the cricket-loving public will thank the wonderfully varied South African and English teams for pushing them to the edge of greatness.
South Africa left a timely reminder that never was the gap between one and three more large than in the series just passed.
The Aussies went into this series with the Test No. 1 ranking within reach, but in a matter of days it was gone and the Aussies were left to lament what could of been as Clarke’s men, not seemingly going that badly, saw their lapses in concentration and failures at critical moments punished.
The Perth win saw the Proteas become the first team in two decades to defeat Australia in Australia on consecutive tours, with the West Indies the previous team to manage it in 1992-93. England is the only other country to have done so.
Michael Clarke’s side is No.3 – better on a good day and worse on a bad one and when it mattered, the Australians went missing.
On the other side of the world, England is on the brink of a remarkable series victory against India after clinching the third Test.
For India, it was a first defeat since the last millennium at Eden Gardens and it now leaves England 2-1 up heading in to the fourth and final Test.
Alastair Cook sublime form continued while Jimmy Anderson shone with new ball and old. His mastery of reverse swing left India in tatters.
On posting his 23rd hundred on the second day of the third Test, Alastair Cook became England’s all-time leading Test century maker. Remarkably, he has achieved this feat at the ripe old age of 27.
Of all the stories to come from this series though, plaudits must lie with crowd favourite, Monty Panesar. No less incisive, Monty intelligently dispatched a number of men who were supposed to be accomplished players of spin.
It has been outstanding performance which is to be continued during the fourth Test in Nagpur.
If England can at least draw the last match in Nagpur, they will become the first tourists since 2004 to win a Test series on India’s soil.
What’s the difference between excellence and achieving greatness? The continued success of Test match cricket around the world will go a long way in determining that.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
And they blamed him of being selfish!! Clearly stats was not on his mind because if Kallis was let go free from the beginning of his career he might have averaged in the high sixties. But Graeme Smith almost average 50 as well and he is a opener. His record almost looked identical to KP's. If KP stayed with SA they would have had some cracking batting line up with De Villiers and him in there playing such free flowing cricket.
Absolutely, Kallis had a strike rate of 42 prior to Amla, his strike rate has been over 50 since Amla. Kallis has also been improving his average over the past years and he scored 20 centuries in his last 94 innings (with amla in the team), prior to this Kallis scored 24 centuries in about 160 innings. So the influence of Amla cannot be under estimated, it has released Kallis to have more confidence in his batting line up and he doesn't have to carry the responsibility all the time. To go from a century 1/8 innings to a century in 1/4.3 in this time is remarkable.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
Amla is Tendulkar reincarnated. He score his centuries in all kinds of way. We have seen the patient Amla scoring a triple and a Amla in ODI mode scoring a blistering 100. Which makes him such a exciting player. His ODI strike rate is around 90 and he averages over 50 in it. But Jacques Kallis have benefited the most with Amla in the team and his averages and strike rate have gone up by some margin. One can clearly see that Kallis was shackled by team instructions prior to Amla. Amla is once a generation batsman for their teams what about Kevin Pietersen? He is a Saffer. Have South Africa used up their quota of 2 of them for the next 40 years?
Jason
Guest
Cook already has more runs and tons than Tendulkar at the same age. 50 x 100s and 15000+ test runs isn't out of the question (although I did say that about Ponting a decade ago as well).
Bearfax
Guest
I agree about Amla and Clarke. I think they are the once in a generation batsmen for their teams, though while Kallis is still around, you have a very special player there who should be up their with the top echelon all time greats of the game. Very under rated but by far the best all rounder I've seen for a long time and yet has a better test batting average than even Tendulkar, Ponting and Lara. ps: A generation is only 20 years
Disco
Roar Guru
I agree. Watson probably shouldn't have played either.
Disco
Roar Guru
Watch out. Punter worshippers will be all over you, stating his positive influence as indisputable fact. Myself, I never saw what his 'experience' offered the side once his batting powers diminished.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Cook's achievement also highlights how English cricket was is disarray in management, organisation and selection between appox 1987 and 2002. 23 test centuries? That's like so last century. Meanwhile all the other nations had players galloping past that mark. Young Cooky will prob get 40 plus by the end.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Cook is a very talented batsman but his performance this year has been on the back of playing a lot of tests. Compared to Amla and Clarke who have scored a similar amount of runs Cook has played about 16 or 17 tests compared to Amla and Clarke who have about 11-12 each. Amla and Clarke are averaging around the 70s for the calendar year while Cook is averaging in the high 40s. Very good - but not great.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Bearfax - I agree with most of what you say about developing young players. Clarke looks the goods as a captain early on - do you think he has the experience to guide the young brigade to greatness ? Clarke came into the team during a champagne era - has he experienced enough of the tough times to be able to lead these players to greatness. Other successful skippers like Border, Waugh, Chappell experienced very tough times earlier in their careers and were maybe better suited to guiding their teams as captains. You could say that Ponting also came into the worlds best side. He was a good captain when he still had the quality cattle but not so much when the retirments rolled in. Of course it's going to be tougher without McGrath, Warne, Hayden, Gilchrist, etc but for years we've heard how great Punter was to hae around the sheds and the invaluable advice he provided young players. But how many young players - particularly batsmen - have benefited from anything Ponting may have taught them. His old position of number 3 has been a revolving door. It doesn't seem like he had too many effective lessons.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
It is not how you start a Test Match but how you finish it.
formeropenside
Guest
When we picked Ponting and Hastings for the Perth test, we were carrying two passengers: Ponting gave no sign of being up to top class pace, and Hastings...well, was Hastings. We were always unlikely to win after being unable to force wins in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Bearfax
Guest
Exceptional talents like Cook's are a once in a generation (or perhaps rarer) in a national cricketing team. Australia did have a team of champion players for a while there but we've had something like that before. Our cricketing side today is in transition, and that is always a difficult time. The former greats have moved on or are about to move on. We only have Hussey, Watson and Clarke from that great team that beat all comers. Only Watson and Clarke will remain, and they will only have another five or six years, such is the brevity of greatness in a sport. But we have a selection of young cricketers coming through, some of whom may be the foundation of our next formidable side. Amongst those kids such as Warner, Hughes, Khawaja, Burns, Cummings, Patterson, Starc, Cutting, Wade etc, there are our next stars of the game, just needing a few years experience and development to become what they promise to become. There are no doubt a couple of rising stars who will possibly burst on the scene in a year or two from Australia's recently successful junior world cup side as well. Greatness doesnt just happen. It takes a special innate talent, lots of hard training work and development, and most importantly experience, especially against the best around. There's no one great in the young up and comers in Australian cricket yet. But give them a few years and we may see greatness suddenly emerge from some of these talented youngsters.
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Australia is, sadly, a long long way from greatness
Wesley from Gundagai
Guest
I can't see Aus cricket getting back to the top anytime soon. Aus cricket rode the champion players for decades without developing the younger players and now since all the champions are retired there is not enough ppl warranting selection. It disgusts me that it has come to this.
peeeko
Roar Guru
i had no idea that he had made so many centuries, he could break a lot more records considering he is on 27