End of an Era - a recap.

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greyhound punter

All Australian
Feb 1, 2023
938
1,145
AFL Club
Essendon
I have always felt Australian cricket moves in cycles and waves. Much like a tide ebbing in and out.

1999 - 2007 World Cup

Australian cricket at its peak: CH 9 commentary, Billy Birmingham, the arrival of Ponting as a batsmen, the ladies swooned over Brett Lee, Warnie up and about in all respects. This era will never be repeated. It all came together in an intoxicating combo. It wasn't all smooth sailing: 2001 v India (away), 2004 (India at home).

Forgotten wins (not with this writer) that never get mentioned including bowling Pakistan out for double figures twice in a test match (2002) and beating South Africa in ODI's 2002 after the Waugh brothers were dropped after the disappointing VB series in 2001/02.

1999 WC, 2003 WC (undefeated), 2007 WC (undefeated).
Notable Test Series Victories: 2004 India Away, 2006/07 Ashes whitewash

1999 - 2001: 16 game winning streak (tests)
2005-2007: Another 16 game winning streak (tests)

This era ended after the 2006/07 Ashes and the WC that followed immediately. Just like that, it was gone.

2008 - 2013 Ashes

A disappointing era of Australian cricket - punctuated with sporadic victories that stirred the soul.

Have always felt the 2009 series win over South Africa away was the highlight of this period - the Champions Trophy win in 2009 and the ODI series thumping win over England in the same period were soothing balms to a disappointing Ashes series. A Ponting straight six off Sidebottom in the same series remains the greatest shot this writer has ever seen.

Australia remained competitive at home during this period, a ODI series smashing of England in 2010/11 (post a disappointing home Ashes series) was followed by a so-so world cup campaign.

A win over Pakistan at the SCG in 2010 remains shrouded in controversy to this day. 2009, 2010/11 and 2013 Ashes series were lost (2-1. 3-1, 3-0) respectively. All could have been won had luck gone our way, but the sure thing about luck, is it always changes.

Starc, Smith, Hazlewood, Lyon and Warner all hit the scene. At our darkest ebb, the green shoots were already taking hold.

2013 - to 2023

Australia barreled back onto the world stage with an absolute hiding of England. The 1st day of the Ashes was probably England's best day of the tour. Johnson went to work the next day, and England never knew what hit them. It remains one of the few times that top order batsmen feared for their safety. This was ferocious fast-balling at its absolute peak. Every man, women and non-binary will never forget if they were at the ground when Johnson tore the life out of England at Adelaide.

Previous fog-horns, such as Matt Prior, who always had a word to say, fell eerily silent. Word was that Prior was ready to take his lyrca and pushbike and ride home rather than face Johnson. The Big Cheese he called himself according to KP. 10 years on, Prior is still reeling towards Square Leg. Periodically seen taking barbs at Aus cricketers from the safety of his twitter account. This series win remains the sweetest of them all.

2014 win in South Africa followed, 2015 World Cup victory. Alas, the good times soon turned sour with losses to Pakistan in 2016 and South Africa at home in 2016/17.

A good thrashing of England soothed the soul in 2017 - which was then followed by the insane over-reaction to ball tampering that resulted in our two biggest drawcards taking 12 months off to appease the woke mob. Warner and Smith both would have been within their rights to stick their two fingers up at CA and ride off into the sunset and play T20 cricket. But they always wanted to return to the fray.

When the big two returned it was a glorious sight: Smith single-handedly smashed England to all corners of the UK, and into France as well. Warner had a shocking series but stirred the English as only he could. Australia retained the Ashes, and then won the everything else including the T20 World Cup in 2021 followed by the ritual smashing handed out to a pathetic English who disgraced themselves, the baggy green, and our great country by turning up and not giving a stuff.

Now this era, win, lose or draw is coming to an End with, what will hopefully be one last hurrah.

Warner, Usman Khawaja are almost certainly playing their last handful of test matches.
Hazlewood and Starc are likely to call it quits before the next Ashes series in Australia in 2025/26 and seek pastures in the T20 circuit.
Steven Smith is no certainity either - he will be 36 next Ashes in Australia. Nathan Lyon will be 38.

England are in the same boat.

Anderson and Broad will not be making the tour in 2025/26.
Stokes will likely have long retired from test cricket - his knee is shot and probably has 10 or 15 test matches in him left, tops - the t20 circuit awaits him as well.
Root, Mark Wood and Woakes are all most probably playing their last Ashes series as well.

Win, lose or draw.

Post your memories of this era of Australian cricket - it's heights matched anything produced by that glorious era of 1999-2007, and who knows, maybe the best is yet to come.
 

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Most of my favourite Cricket memories have come from watching Australia in England.

The home summer is fun but the cricket is rarely competitive these days so it's more about watching your favourite players in action rather than an even contest (except against India, the solution is not more India of course).

Trent Bridge 2013 is one of my favourite Tests. It's the game where Ashton Agar scored his 99 (Phil Hughes also played his last substantial innings in the Test side, in partnership with Agar) but that often overshadows an extremely tight finish.

It didn't feel like Australia would get near England's total in the 4th innings (it was something like 320) after the top order failed in the first innings but after a good opening stand and some contributions throughout, Brad Haddin and James Pattinson batting at 11 got us extremely close.

Unfortunately Anderson dismissed Haddin caught behind (given not out but got reviewed) but It was seriously entertaining.

The series was also one of my favourites for Warne as commentator. After the high of 10/11, the England commentators were digging the boot into Australia, praising Alastair Cook and calling out any and all weaknesses of the Australian team.

Warne wasn't having it. While England were winning, he felt the score line of the series flattered them (which was true, there was at least 1 game we would have won if not for weather) and he constantly talked about Alastair Cook's weak captaincy and how he'd be exposed in Australia for being way too negative in the field.

The English scoffed, but Warne was proved completely right soon after on our shoes and Cook's captaincy never really recovered.

Another Warne commentating memory from that series was Usman Khawaja being given out on field to a caught behind. All evidence suggested it should be overturned (even Botham agreed with Warner) and yet it remained out. I can only imagine how the fans calling Green a cheat for his catch would have reacted to this one:

 
They had a test on today on Fox Cricket, was in our lean years, 2010 Ashes in Perth.

In what was a pretty crap side, you had some of Australia’s best ever batters in the same lineup.

Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Smith all in the team together. Issue was, none of them were at the peak of their powers and were surrounded by crabs like Quiney and Hilfenhaus
 
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Haven't won an Ashes series in England for 22 years. That's the current era of the team, and I wouldn't presume it's ending yet.

England won in Australia on the 6th attempt in 2010 after lost winning in Aus in 1986/7.

This is our 6th attempt of trying to win outright in England since 2001.

A little omen perhaps?
 
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They had a test on today on Fox Cricket, was in our lean years, 2010 Ashes in Perth.

In what was a pretty crap side, you had some of Australia’s best ever batters in the same lineup.

Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Smith all in the team together. Issue was, none of them were at the peak of their powers and were surrounded by crabs like Quiney and Hilfenhaus

Australia won that test.

Our issue really wasn't our batting in 2010 - yes we got rolled at the MCG, but we struggled with the ball that series. England beat us by an innings 3 times from memory.
 
He wasn't an international cricketer imo. He swung the ball from the hand, medium pace, had a decent lifter....he was a fringe state cricketer at best.
Decent effort by a fringe state cricketer to take 137 wickets for his country then...
 
England won in Australia on the 6th attempt in 2010 after lost winning in Aus in 1986/7.

This is our 6th attempt of trying to win outright in England since 2001.

A little omen perhaps?

We have also been way more competitive from 2005 to now in ashes than England 1990-07, they were comprehensively wiped each time (though 90-91 they had their chances but some inexplicable batting collapses).
 

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He wasn't an international cricketer imo. He swung the ball from the hand, medium pace, had a decent lifter....he was a fringe state cricketer at best.

I thought he was, but he was too often hampered by niggling injuries which messed with his action.

He was also a decent #10 and an underrated fielder.
 
Decent effort by a fringe state cricketer to take 137 wickets for his country then...
Was too young to have any educated opinion on cricket at the time, but I always remember finding Hilfenhaus far more exciting when he came on to bowl than the more workmanlike Siddle. Very good swing bowler from memory, which has always been quite an underrated skill imo from Australian fans who value pace above swing (due to our home conditions).
 
I fear for the next era.

I remember when Warner, Smith, Hughes and Khawaja were coming through - four absolute talents. We looked set for a decade. People from South Australia, as well as Warnie, rated a young Trav Head as a rare talent as well. Warner and Khawaja will soon be gone, Smith won't go on into his mid-late 30s but at least Trav become a very good test batsman.

The two brightest lights of the next generation were Green and Pucovski - no one else jumps out as a potential test star. Green is a very useful test cricketer already but he's underperforming with the bat relative to his potential. I doubt Pucovski gets back to test level. Who else has shown enough at first class level to suggest they're going to dominate at test level? The cupboard looks bare. No other young junior batsman has shown anything at first class level that suggests they have the potential to be a great, although the unexpected emergence of Labuschagne has really helped.

Every country is going to suffer from the over-prioritisation of T20, but Australia's next generation seem a long way behind England's for instance. The cupboard looks bare.
 
I fear for the next era.

I remember when Warner, Smith, Hughes and Khawaja were coming through - four absolute talents. We looked set for a decade. People from South Australia, as well as Warnie, rated a young Trav Head as a rare talent as well. Warner and Khawaja will soon be gone, Smith won't go on into his mid-late 30s but at least Trav become a very good test batsman.

The two brightest lights of the next generation were Green and Pucovski - no one else jumps out as a potential test star. Green is a very useful test cricketer already but he's underperforming with the bat relative to his potential. I doubt Pucovski gets back to test level. Who else has shown enough at first class level to suggest they're going to dominate at test level? The cupboard looks bare. No other young junior batsman has shown anything at first class level that suggests they have the potential to be a great, although the unexpected emergence of Labuschagne has really helped.

Every country is going to suffer from the over-prioritisation of T20, but Australia's next generation seem a long way behind England's for instance. The cupboard looks bare.

chances are warner, khawaja, hazlewood, starc, and boland and neser wont tour england again.
smith and lyon are unlikely to tour england again as well.

our best 6 batsmen are currently in the side and no one is pressing for a spot.
it'd be nice if pucovski was right and hardie perhaps looks a likely type.
two openers will get an opportunity sooner rather than later.

we haven't had depth in batting for some time now, with our next best averaging 40 at best at first class level or batting all rounder types (marsh, maxwell, stoinis).

the good thing is since g.chappell we've always had a link up to a 50+ ave batsmen to border to s.waugh to ponting to hayden to m.hussey to smith to marnus.
 
I fear for the next era.

I remember when Warner, Smith, Hughes and Khawaja were coming through - four absolute talents. We looked set for a decade. People from South Australia, as well as Warnie, rated a young Trav Head as a rare talent as well. Warner and Khawaja will soon be gone, Smith won't go on into his mid-late 30s but at least Trav become a very good test batsman.

The two brightest lights of the next generation were Green and Pucovski - no one else jumps out as a potential test star. Green is a very useful test cricketer already but he's underperforming with the bat relative to his potential. I doubt Pucovski gets back to test level. Who else has shown enough at first class level to suggest they're going to dominate at test level? The cupboard looks bare. No other young junior batsman has shown anything at first class level that suggests they have the potential to be a great, although the unexpected emergence of Labuschagne has really helped.

Every country is going to suffer from the over-prioritisation of T20, but Australia's next generation seem a long way behind England's for instance. The cupboard looks bare.

People said the same thing in 2010 when we got hammered v England. That we had no batsmen coming through etc.

We will find/produce batsmen just like we did back then.
 
No one could've imagined that Smith would become anywhere near the batsman he is. Ditto Head, ditto Labuschagne. A lot of these players can develop quickly given the right circumstances, and almost appear out of the blue as a talented test player. I wouldn't worry massively about Australia being bereft of young batting talent. They'll come through
 
we may well see an end of a mini era, as soon as march next year.

we have 10 tests to play:
3 more v england
3 v pakistan (home) - warner finishing
2 v west indies (home)
2 v new zealand (away)

then its a 9 month break before we face india at home.

the likes of khawaja, hazlewood, starc and even boland and neser could be finished by then.
 

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End of an Era - a recap.

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