Are Aussies still invincible by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Event:

Australia in India 2008/09

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DateLine: 22nd October 2008

 

A lot has happened over the last five days which may suggest that Aussies are no more the same team they were for the past decade and a half. For starters their body language suggested that they were giving up without a fight. The margin of defeat was the highest in the past 17 years. This is the first time in decades that Australia don't have a quality spinner. There reliance on Lee is not helping matters, neither the much publicized spat between him and his captain. The other quicks have failed to trouble the Indian batsman. One has rarely seen an Australian team fail in all departments of the game, completely outplayed by the opposition in their own game.
Ponting has his task cut out
For the first time since Allan Border took over the reigns from Kim Huges in 1984 has an Australian side looked so depleted. The retirements of three key players Warne, Gichrist and Mcgrath have left a huge void in their playing eleven. Add to that Symonds escapades and Stuart Clarke's injury have left them with not many options. Clarke might still get back for the third test but too many debutants are costing Australia dearly. Lot of players are playing their first test in India. Lee like Ponting has not yet kickstarted his campaign in India. Ponting still managed a Test hundred in Bangalore but Lee is still struggling.
Hayden and Clarke not at their best
Hayden and Michael Clarke have added to Ponting's woes. Both are yet to make an impact in this series . Hayden is yet to recapture his 2001 form and Clarke his 2004's. With Symonds not in the team these two have a huge responsibility to shoulder. Hayden would want to avoid getting out to his nemesis Zaheer Khan. No wonder Dhoni asked Rahul to see the scoreboard because Aussies were going at less than two an over, which in itself was a novelty.
Ponting Lee spat
When things go your way nobody asks anything. There were times when Gilchrist and Warne never got along with each other. But on the field of play one could never make that out. But if there are skeletons in your closet which are coming out when things are not going your way then it is trouble in paradise. Same is the case with Lee and Ponting . First time in donkey's years we are seeing a spat in an Aussie dressing room all because they have lost just a cricket match. These are things one generally witnesses in an Indian or a Pakistani dressing room.
These are the first signs that one is seeing from which one may draw conclusions that Aussies are no more an invincible side. But that doesn't mean that Aussies can't fight. They have been hit very hard and they would be like wounded tigers smarting under the defeat. One cannot rule out a fightback from the Aussies in this series. But in the long run whether they would be able to sustain the winning streaks they used to under Ponting,Waugh and even for that matter Taylor in the last decade or so remains to be seen.