| The future of the heavyweight champion.
Since the early 90’s Australian cricket has been a juggernaut of destruction that has knocked out every opponent that they have come across at home and away, but what is the future of this beast? Before we look to the future we also have to look in the past to see what created this monster. In the last seventeen years the Australian test team has lost only eight out of fifty-six test series and has lost only one at home in those seventeen years, since 2000 the side has only lost two series out of twenty-seven, both series ended up 2-1 and one was the famous 2005 ashes series and the other was a lose to India in India. Loses like these have shown how good the Australian team has been on the comeback, smashing the English side 5-0 in the 2006/07 and also doing what was seen as almost impossible beating a full strength India in India 2-1 the next time around.
Now that the backbone of this great side have gone with Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne & Jason Gillespie never to put on a baggy green again and the experience of fifteen hundred and thirty victims leave with them there is a massive gap left by these legends of the game. With so many players retired or coming to the end of there careers it is a time of change for the Australian test team. The Australian’s have lost the fighting spirit of a little left handed opening battler named Justin Langer and the class of Damien Martyn who when in form could make batting look like the easiest thing on earth. These batsmen can be replaced with the class of Brad Hodge, Phil Jaques, Chris Rogers or even Michael Hussey could possibly slip into an opener’s role if all does not go to plan. The future with the bat is not the worry with an astonishing amount of class batsman currently in Australian cricket, the likes of these men with a huge to moderate amount of first class experience like Ricky Ponting, David Hussey, Simon Katich, Andrew Symonds, Adam Voges, Marcus North, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin who is also a very good wicket keeper batsman. The Australian’s also have very talented young batsman with Mark Cosgrove, Travis Birt, Cameron White and Shane Watson are not too far away from being class acts if they are treated the right way and Cosgrove stops eating so many pies because he is by far the most naturally talented young batsman in Australia. The domination machine that is Adam Gilchrist is coming to the end of his career and waiting in the shadows is the very capable Brad Haddin who should fill his position with great effect.
The biggest problem is the massive gap in the bowling department, with such big names that will go down in history as champions and legends of the game gone. Glenn McGrath will be replaced by his fellow New South Wales clone Stuart Clark who has been very successful so far in his short career. The problem with Clark is that he is just a short term fix, along with another short term fix with the twenty nine year old Nathan Bracken who has stamped his dominance as a top class one day bowler, but is yet to get a real run in test conditions. The young breed of bowlers that are coming through look promising and all have been successful in the one day arena, the twenty four year old lightning bolt that is Shaun Tait has proven in the world cup that he can be more than a handful with his pace and can blast out top class batsman with his pace that can exceed the 160k/ph mark. Mitchell Johnson is a left arm fast swing bowler that Dennis Lillee put the pressure on him by naming him a once in a generation bowler has also been very good in the one day form and in the Australian domestic competition, watching Johnson blast out India in very good batting conditions was very enjoyable for Australian eyes he took 4/11 off 4 overs and took the wickets of Dravid, Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Pathan. Johnson took four of the five Indian wickets before the match was called of due to rain. Another young quick that looks very promising opening bowler from Tasmania named Ben Hilfenhaus who has only played a single one day international but his ability so swing an older ball makes him look like a very good long term bowler for the future. Hilfenhaus was the leading wicket taker in the Australian domestic competition with 60 wickets in the four day games and 13 wickets in the one day domestic form of the game. Along with Brett Lee and possible part time help from Shane Watson depending on his batting form, the Australian pace bowling stocks look decently strong considering that a player with the career of McGrath is no longer around.
How do you replace a man with over 700 test wickets and is arguably the greatest ever bowler to play the game? You can’t but the short term option would be to bring in a man whose test career was stolen from him by the best ever, if Stuart MacGill was born in any other time or country he would have over 500 test wickets and would be known as one of the best ever spin bowlers. Stuart MacGill is not the long term answer, he is thirty-six years old so he might go for another two years at the very most, but the long term option is either Dan Cullen who simply a young twenty three year old off break bowler from South Australia who has been less than impressive in Australian domestic competition. Dan Cullen does have a much more promising team mate called Cullen Bailey, the twenty two year old leg spinner is Terry Jenner’s (the spin doctor and mentor to Warne) new apprentice and is a very talented bowler who looks to be the next leg spinner for Australia. Aaron Heal is an outsider but had a good domestic season, the Western Australian left arm orthodox spinner and has shown good control but like Dan Cullen does not seem to be in the class of Bailey who is younger and has more tricks up his sleeve being a leg spinner. Stuart MacGill will do the short term job and time will tell with the rest spinners, Bailey looks to be the favourite for a long term stint because leg spinners have a lot of advantages, but they can be very easily destroyed as bowlers and they can take a long time to be developed where off break bowlers, who usually take a shorter time to develop and have good control but there fatal flaw is that they do not have the weapons of a leg break bowler.
Shane Warne is simply irreplaceable and he is the big spot that is missing in the side. Within the next two years players like Gilchrist, Hayden & MacGill will also be gone which will make even more gaps in the side unless the replacements that are coming in now do a great job straight away.
I cannot see Australia being the Mohammed Ali like they were straight away, but there batting power still allows them to be George Foreman, but as we know from rumble in the jungle Foreman is not quite same class. The Australian side may still float like a butterfly with players like Hussey, Ponting, Gilchrist, Clark, Lee, Hayden & Clarke, but with a weaker bowling line up they may not be able to sting like a bee like they could with Warne & McGrath.
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Bill Ponsford - The only one who could play in Bradman’s company and make it a duet. | 
29-06-2007, 06:52 AM
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