The 1990s and the early 21st century were arguably the most successful years of Australian cricket. Unbeaten in all of the Ashes series barring the 2005 debacle, and completing a hat trick of world cups, the world was at the feet of the Australians. This phase has been attributed to the re-structuring of the team and the system by Alan Border, successive clever captains and some of the finest players of all times. Cut to 2013 and a 2-0 down Ashes series with the saga of litigation by a former coach, spat between the Captain and Vice-Captain and public brawls, things cannot get worse for the Australian side. For the Aussies, it seems as if the fairy tale just went berserk.
Whenever the Australian cricket captaincy changes hands, there has always been a subtle message, an unspoken and understood theme and it was to beat the Poms in the Ashes. Steve Waugh knew it and Ricky Ponting learned it and now Michael Clarke is being tested on it.
The captaincy of Steve Waugh has been best described as motivational. His team never lost hope or heart and despite being down they have never been out. This is why perhaps the team of 1999-2001 was termed “untouchables”. Waugh’s untouchables won 16 straight test matches during this period.
Chris Cairns , the former New Zealand captain described it best. He said “We had them four or five down for 60 in Hamilton on quite a spicy deck. Then all of a sudden Gilly got 90 – just sort of pummelled it – and then they rolled you again second innings and ended up coming away with the victory.” (source foxsports.com.au)
That was Steve Waugh and the untouchables-Unrelenting, uncompromising and dedicated.
Steve Waugh was succeeded by Ricky Ponting. Ricky Ponting was a warrior who would want to win, hook or crook. His brazen style and off-field controversies kept the limelight on him for the wrong reasons.
What Steve Waugh knew, Ricky learnt the hard way, by losing the Ashes to the English in 2005. He was broken and angry and he showed it well to the media and the English crowd.
However, he came back in style. In a fitting response to his critics and as a gift to the ‘greatest men, he knew’, Ricky Ponting led the Aussie side to a whitewash 5-0 win in the Ashes in 2007. He was declared man of the series in recognition of the massive runs he got. It was also the time when Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and Justin Langer stepped down. Andrew Flintoff’s side was ruthlessly hammered and it was the perfect stage for them to bring down the curtain on their glorious career.
The Aussies were in transition, and Ponting bore the brunt of the frustrations when England won two more Ashes series (2009 and 2010-11), ensuring the Tasmanian became the first Australian captain to preside over three Ashes defeats. He ended his captaincy after being at the control for seven years in Test and nine years in One dayers.Not before, however, he had become the most successful Test captain of all time – under his leadership, the team won 48 out 77 Tests, 16 of them in a row between December 2005 and January 2008, and 163 out of 227 one-day internationals, including the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.
Down the lane in time, Michael Clarke yesterday claimed his team can come up from behind and can even win the Ashes. A few people did laugh it away. But then he did lose the first test narrowly and he along with coach Darren Lehman are trying to pull everything out of the bag against the English. It is to be seen how much dividend their efforts yield.