The Test: A New Era For Australia’s Team, directed by Adrian Brown, is an eight-part Amazon Prime documentary that follows the players and staff of the Australian cricket team from the sandpaper incident in Cape Town all the way up to Australia’s recent ODI World Cup and Ashes campaign in the UK.
Within this eight-episode series, the cameras got up close and personal with the entire Australian cricket team. Whether it be a coaches meeting regarding vital upcoming selection or just a Mitch Marsh coffee run, the cameras were there.
The focus of this series was to capture how the Australian cricket team got back on their feet after South Africa and how they went about aiming to win two of the biggest competitions in world cricket with a new team, new coach, new captain and a new mindset.
(David Davies/PA via AP)
Although many different tours and matches were featured in this documentary series, there was definitely an emphasis put on the Test and ODI series against India, the World Cup and the Ashes. Other series – Test and ODI – that played roles within the documentary were against the likes of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, South Africa and many more.
This series highlights Justin Langer’s unique coaching style and technique as well his ongoing theme of respect. On top of that, it also shows the relationship and bond that Langer and captain Tim Paine formed throughout the summer. Rarely in Australian Test cricket history would the team get a new captain and a new head coach almost simultaneously, making this era of Australian cricket even more interesting.
The only form of criticism I have for this documentary is that there was no footage of and nor mention of the Australia A tour of the UK, other than Matthew Wade in one interview. I’m assuming this is because the priority at the time was on the World Cup, but the Australia A tour did play a crucial part in selecting the Australian Ashes squad. This is why I believe that it shouldn’t be disregarded completely.
As a whole, this series is extremely eye-opening and a definite must-watch for all cricket fans as it gives an inside look on the lives of international cricketers and what goes through the minds of the players and the coaches when decisions – both on a small and large scale – are made.
Also, it is extremely well directed and produced. Even though I remember the Ashes like it was yesterday, there’s still a little bit of me that still hopes Nathan Lyon won’t miss the run out or possibly Marcus Harris will take the catch. Altogether, this is a great watch.
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Certainly true if your smart tv has a browser, not all do.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Don’t think you need a fire stick with smart TVs? Don’t know much about the various technologies, but I was able to download Prime app on my standard Samsung smart TV and watch. It’s certainly very good value at half the price of Netflix, especially when we recall the days of buying or renting DVDs.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
I've watched 4 episodes so far and the highlight for me was Lyon in tears handing Head his baggy green, it shows how much it means to him. Still would like to know why he was never considered for captaincy, at the very least VC.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Sign up to Amazon prime?
Spinosum
Roar Rookie
How can one in lock down in Central Europe access the Test, please?
Micko
Roar Rookie
I think he's one of those naturally quiet guys, that's the impression I've got anyway.
Spanner
Roar Rookie
The " elite honesty" rubbish threw me a bit as well but both the coach and captain have delivered and certainly turned our cricket around. After being dropped early in his career, Langer penned himself a note - " dont get bitter - get better". He did !
Spanner
Roar Rookie
Methinks Mitcher is quite wealthy !
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
One strange thing. Graeme Hick was in shot often enough but I never heard his name mentioned or heard him say a word. He’s our batting coach, how could he have so little input? We heard plenty from Saker.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
The Elite stuff was a minor misstep but it made sense in the broader context of what they were trying to achieve. Tim Paine was hugely impressive. Owned his mistakes. Stepped up when required. His free format spray after losing the Stokes test was brilliant. And the sledge re not really liking Kohli was legendary.
matth
Roar Guru
It really mainly focuses from when Langer was appointed.
Alex Hudson
Roar Guru
Hi Micko, the first half of the first episode focuses on the South Africa saga and then the rest of the series follows on from there. So to answer your question, yes it does show what happened in South Africa. Hope that helps.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
I'm liking Langer as a coach. Once I got past the 'elite honesty' bs (it sounds like something cooked up by an overzealous MBA student) and just looked at the results on and off the field I really started to warm to him. As always only time will tell but I really think he's turning the ship around and got us heading in the right direction.
Micko
Roar Rookie
When does it start? Does it show the infamous SA tour?
Micko
Roar Rookie
Khawaja has had a reputation for being "mouthy" for years, which has apparently rubbed people up the wrong way, including captains, coaches and selectors.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Under $70 for a whole year?! :shocked: No wonder why Foxtel is in trouble!
matth
Roar Guru
I enjoyed it overall. Some random thoughts: - Usman Khawaja comes across as a free thinker not willing to tie the party line - I think I better understand the fatigue fast bowlers go through. - justin Langer came across as an intelligent passionate man. - Shaun Marsh always looks so laid back from a distance it was interesting to see how much it all meant to him after being dismissed. - the real drama and tension when Smith got hit by Archer was riveting. One negative which was inevitable. It certainly comes across as airbrushed. There are only a very select few disagreements shown and almost no arguments. I can’t believe that in a high pressure environment like that over 12 months that they all played happy families.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Complaining? I literally asked a simple question! :shocked:
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Amazon prime is $69 a year to watch on every device, after a one month trial. For a one off $60 you can buy an Amazon firestick to receive the service to a smart tv. It is easily one of the best value streaming services. It'll turn up on free to air eventually though, so hang on for that if you like, it is an excellent eye opener and shows what an honest, class act Tim Paine is.
Mitcher
Guest
You sure do a lot of complaining about goods costing things. About people who have more than you. Maybe less frivolous activities than moaning on Internet forums and you may have made some actual money for you and you family.