| The three great Australians of my time
During the past 15 years we have many interesting things in cricket. We have seen one of the best batsmen to play cricket in the modern era in Indian batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, West Indian super-star Brain Lara and Inspirational leader Steve Waugh of Australia. We have witnessed one of the greatest wicket-takers in test cricket in Sri Lankan talisman Muttiah Murilitharan and leg spinner Shane Warne. The gruesome partnerships of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram and West Indian giants Curtly Amrose and Courtney Walsh, and we have seen the very accurate Australian fast bowler Glenn MacGrath. But the biggest thing we have seen in the past 15 years has been the dominance of one team in cricket-Australia. They have set a benchmark for all teams with their incredible fielding, batting and bowling but none have came close to this side. The players that have been a catalyst in this side have been wicket keeper/batsmen Adam Gilchrist; the very accurate Australian fast bowler Glenn MacGrath and arguably the greatest spinner cricket has seen Shane Warne. Below I will write about how cricket will be like without these great players who would walk into anyone’s world XI.
Firstly let’s talk about leg spinner Shane Warne. Wisden chose him as the best 5 players of the 20th century, which should say enough about this player. He revived leg spin, thought to be extinct, and is now pre-eminent in a game so transformed that we sometimes wonder where the next champion fast bowlers will come from. He was the spinner to reach 400 and 500 wickets, and he was the first cricket player to reach 600 wickets when he dismissed Marcus Trescothick. With his wicket taking ability he has given an extra edge to the Australian team which no other team has had. He is an incredible help to the team because on a 5th day wicket he can be the opposition’s worst nightmare. He made his test debut in 1991against India in Perth. He had awful debut when he ended up with figures 45overs 7maidens 150runs and 1wicket, that of Ravi Shastri who hit 206 opening for India. He finally made his mark on the cricket scene when his first Ashes ball that gazoodled Mike Gatting in 1993, bouncing outside leg stump and cuffing off, which was later unofficially dubbed the greatest ball of the century. He then on went to claim more than 600 wickets and is respected by all. Warne is more famous than he is loved. Maybe we don't fully appreciate his genius; maybe, like Bradman's, it will become ever more apparent with the passing of decades. One thing's for sure, though. We'll weep when he's gone.
Now lets talk about wicket keeper/batsman Adam Gilchrist. Whether he is playing tests playing at no.7 or playing at no.1 when playing ODI’s, Adam Gilchrist doesn’t change his style of batting- scoring fast! He describes hit batting philosophy as "Just hit the ball," the perfect example of this Australian side. Adam Gilchrist’s arrival turned the Australian team from powerful overpowering. He is a perfect example to all cricket players and young children showing his sportsmanship when he walked in the world cup semi-finals when he given not out by the umpire. He averages over 50 with the bat and his strike rate is 80+, Wisden named him as the fastest scorer ever in test cricket. He comes down when the score is at 220-5 or 400-5 and he absolutely takes the game away from the opposition in no time at all because he scores at such a fast rate. He has many times given victory to Australia when losing was certain, like his death-defying unbeaten 149 against Pakistan at Hobart when all seemed lost, and his savage and emotional 204 not out against South Africa at Johannesburg. We will surly miss this great cricketer when he retires, we will miss his style of play and his sportsmanship, I for one can’t imagine another keeper standing behind the Australian stumps.
Finally I shall discuss Glenn MacGrath. He is so accurate and deadly with his bowling that he an asset to the team, how many times have we seen the captain or the best batsmen in the side become Glenn MacGrath’s bunny? Michael Atherton (19), Brain Lara (13), Jimmy Adams (12), SL Campbell (11), Alec Stewart (10), Mark Butcher (9), Stephen Fleming (8) and Nasser Hussein (8) have all been MacGrath’s bunnies. England Opener Michael Atherton and West Indian super star Brain Lara are both are/were the captain and the best batsmen of their team. This has given great advantage to Australia when they were removed by Glenn MacGrath, removing a captain from a team can have a lot of affect on their morality which leads to teams playing under-par. He is a batting rabbit who applied himself so intently that while playing for Worcestershire he won a bet with an Australian teammate by scoring a fifty. The work eventually paid off in Tests when he made 61, the third-highest score by a No. 11, against New Zealand in 2004-05. MacGrath made his debut in 1993 replacing Merv Hughes, and he did have a good debut bowling well and claiming economical figures of 39overs 12maidens 92runs 2wickets in his first innings. He had a very successful career afterwards winnings the world cup in 1999 and 2003, being named Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1998 and 1999 and being awarded the Allan Border Medal in 2000. An ankle injury threatened to derail his quest for 500 Test wickets, but after briefly contemplating retirement he bounced back with yet another five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka at Darwin in July 2004. Three months later, at Nagpur, he became the first fast bowler to play 100 matches in the baggy green, and his greatness was further confirmed at Perth in December when knocking down the brittle Pakistanis with 8 for 24, the second-best figures by an Australian.
We will all miss these great cricket legends when they retire. We will miss Adam Gilchrist ferocious batting and sportsmanship. We will weep when Shane Warne retires because we will not be able to see those he turning leg breaks or other varieties like the flipper, slider, googly, backspin, zooter etc. We will miss the headlines, the sex scandal stories etc. We also truly miss our pigeon Glenn MacGrath, we will miss his boring sledges, his incredible line and length. But more importantly we will miss these Australians beating the old enemy-the poms! Guys tell me what will you miss out of all these great cricketers, please give me your thoughts and opinions. | 
31-08-2005, 05:47 PM
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