After a sensational finish to the season by the Australian cricket team and the raging success of the BBL, Cricket Australia can be pleased with the health of the game in the country.
Their work in raising the profile of the women’s game is to be commended.
However, as Shane Warne says, the game is missing the personalities of its past.
When one looks at the core of the Australian team, which includes Steve Smith, David Warner, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Starc, as skilled as they are, their personalities and their ability to engage with the public lags far behind the Australian team that played from the mid-1990s to 2000s.
Perhaps it’s just nostalgia from my childhood days, but names like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, and Glenn McGrath, carry far more weight as cricketers.
Some might conclude that the pure dominance of the team a decade ago was why the Australian public seemed to shower its cricketers with more love compared to now. However, it was as recent as 2015, when the Australian one-day team blitzed its way to a dominant World Cup win and the nation was hardly ecstatic.
Some also blame stronger media restrictions, which prevent players from expressing their views. Though this is a fair point, it isn’t sophisticated enough.
The players of yesteryear seemed to have much more rounded personalities we could relate to.
Matthew Hayden was vocal about his childhood in the bush, his cooking and surfing skills. Brett Lee crafted an image of a chilled out musician, and a fashion icon to contrast his often fiery on-field demeanour. Steve Waugh’s tremendous work improving the lives of impoverished girls in Kolkata endeared him to many Indians and Australians around the globe.
While Shane Warne’s soap opera life was a special case in building up his legendary status, Andrew Symonds came across as a maverick, who seemed to live by a kind of ‘work hard, party hard’ mantra, attracting many fans like myself to his dynamic playing style.
It’s not necessarily their personal lives (except for Warne) that we had an insight into, but we very much felt like we knew these individuals beyond their cricket, and this seemed to increase our admiration for them.
They were professionals playing with an amateur spirit.
Now there seems to be a corporate culture that defines these cricketers, and while they come across as friendly to young fans, the adult fans are finding it harder to relate to them.
Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc are very good cricketers, who come across as very decent and polite people, but we can’t exactly say they are vibrant personalities.
Nathan Lyon did get a huge fan following, after constant “Nice Garry!” assurances from Matthew Wade. Yet, he developed more of a cult hero status, which quickly died down the same way facebook memes about him stopped circulating.
The words that Cricket Australia instructs the players to throw around at press conferences such as “leadership group”, “sleeping patterns”, and “workloads”, are becoming a real chore. The players do play aggressively and are currently successful, making it interesting to watch, but it’s the personalities that make one emotionally invested in the team’s performance.
It’s hard to say that now. The series against Pakistan this summer really struggled for my attention.
I remember tearing up when Australia lost the 2005 Ashes. Yet the 2015 Ashes quickly faded from my memory as if it never happened. Only Mitchell Johnson really made the 2013-14 Ashes worth watching with his brilliant bowling.
The huge amount of unnecessary cricket, such as the New Zealand series in February, isn’t helping, and it forces the players to go through the motions.
Since Greg Chappell’s re-involvement in Australian cricket in 2008, there has been a real push to develop a stronger pathway system, which became more official in 2015.
The aim of this is to identify talented players from the age of 12 and prepare them for international honours.
This could be a reason why players are robbed of expressing themselves. Teenagers are being hammered with corporate terminology from a young age, spending time in a climate which makes it hard to play other sports and pursue other activities.
It is thus harder to develop a well-rounded character, being in the bubble of professional sport only. Perhaps this isn’t specific to cricket alone.
There hasn’t been a player born in the early 1990s and beyond, who has really captured the imagination of the public.
David Warner can be fairly vibrant at times and Usman Khawaja – having trained as a pilot, and given his work in press conferences – has a unique persona compared to the rest.
Yet, these kinds of players are rare, and cricket in Australia is poorer for it.
Don Freo
Guest
Dabs bring the ELBOW into the foreground. Surely you, of all people, have gotta love that.
TC123
Guest
And sonny bill Williams is bigger than Warner as well. Ask his wife
TC123
Guest
Oh dear. Looks like you've hit a nerve there me ol mate. Looks like some of the Aussie supporters haven't got a sense of humour either
Les Boyd's Elbow
Guest
Dabs are for imbeciles though.
Les Boyd's Elbow
Guest
Reminds me of the "Logical Song" by Supertramp. Very poignant. Peebo, to you I say lighten up a bit. Too many people are running around these days kissing the behinds of other people in an attempt to prove how "cultured", "enlightened" and "progressive" they are. Did we lose a war? That's not Australia, that's not even Mexico. Boingo, I agree with you. We live in a nation founded upon the ideologies of personal autonomy and the freedom to express ourselves as we see fit. However to some it seems this can only apply where you adhere to the common narrative of everyone being the same, not offending anyone's delicate sensibilities, etc. I remember back when the Roar was hard, and now it seems to be degenerating by the day.
Kris
Guest
You could not get a bigger bore than Greg chappell. Has the personality of a bar of soap. David warner has typical small man syndrome . even his wife is taller than him , but then again every body is. Nearly a hobbit
Peebo
Guest
Alright, enough. Hey do you like the band you've adopted as your avatar for this site? They have a great song called 'Stay' from the late 80's and, of course, Danny what-sis-name (Elfman?) went on to be a major composer in Hollywood. Did a lot of soundtracks for Tim Burton films.
Mark
Guest
Couldn't give a toss about Charisma. I'd rather watch a winning Australian XI and some quality cricket.
Don Freo
Guest
Glen McGrath and Steve Waugh with charisma? I'd like to see that. The author just doesn't know the new cricketers yet. "Garry" Lyon is a national treasure, Ussie is as funny as and Davy Warner sparkles on field whether batting or fielding. Keep an eye on Matt Renshaw. Very funny and the next team song leader.
Oingo Boingo
Guest
If it were not for double standards, people such as yourself would have no standards at all.
Peebo
Guest
"It’s just too stupid how they think a sports team can be like a bunch of trained monkeys in a circus." Huh? Oh am I another who doesn't have the "brains for it?" I think we could very much accuse you of the same
Andy
Guest
warner and smith have charisma? the other three dont either but they are not in the team so meh but warner and smith sersiously? they have charisma? and watson aswell? even johnson i wouldnt say had charisma.
Andy
Guest
I think part of it is also that we are no longer clearly the best. Its alot easier to be cheekier, to be sassy when you are kicking ass and you know that even if you bowl or bat uselessly youll probably still win because your team is about 4 guys away from being the world XI. Also yes this team is way more boring but so are most other teams. Talking about the 2005 ashes someone recently uploaded an 8 and a half hour video of the series to youtube. Be warned though if watching that it is as great as you remember but you will inevitably start comparing the drama and the overall skill to the current players in both teams. Also hawkeye was so cute back then.
Peebo
Guest
OB, please explain how I've been hypocritical? To have been a hypocrite, I would have said something that was politically incorrect. How was anything I said not PC? I think you need to get your head around double standards before you accuse people of having them.
zenn
Guest
Current vibrant figures: Glen Maxwell, Steven O'Keefe, Nathan Lyon, Warner, Smith Recent past vibrant figures: Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich. The prism of nostalgia often flatters to deceive so we tend to exaggerate the personalities of the past. The charisma of players of the past tended to develop as their careers developed and the media and fans became more familiar with them. Often the characteristics and personalities we remember emerged towards the end of their careers. Give the current crop time and personalities will emerge.
dave
Guest
Totally agree with the article however something needs pointing out. We currently have a wicketkeeper who's not up to scratch,his batting isn't flash and the only reason any of us can fathom his being in the team is he was selected for his personality.
Oingo Boingo
Guest
It really comes as no surprise that the result of breaking his silence is the implication that he is in someway backwards and then stereotyped. Gotta love the double standards.
jameswm
Roar Guru
We've got ample personality in our team. Warner the aggro bogan, Renshaw the lanky always smiling rookie, Khawaja the teetoalling dabbing muslim, Smith the clean cut Sydney boy, Wade the toughie, Starc the nice guy off field going out with Healy's niece, Lyon the former groundsman, Siddle the fit banana eater, Hazlewood the consistent country boy etc. Ample.
jameswm
Roar Guru
If they show personality you get an article the following day about how they are arrogant and disrespectful.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yeah but it's done poorly. Not worth wasting your time on.