A Decade of Domination – Part One
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It is ten years this month since Australia defeated the West Indies, in the West Indies (it was actually 3 May 1995 when the final wicket fell in Kingston). Therefore, Australia has been the unofficial world champion of Test cricket for ten continuous years. To celebrate, I will look at the rise of Australian cricket, why we have stayed at the top and “the rest” – are we really that good or is that the rest are so bad? I’ll look at the captains, their personnel, the dynamics and the politics and then see what the future might hold.

I say that we were the unofficial world champions from that point in 1995 because there was no official ICC Test world championship table. While the West Indians were fairly undisputed champions at that time, they were at the beginning of the end and there were some pretty useful other teams around (South Africa and Pakistan to name two). However, using the boxing methodology that Tubby Taylor subscribed to: If you beat the champions, you must be the champions. Right? It is on that premise that I present “Australian Cricket 1995-2005: A Decade of Domination”.

This article is about Test cricket but it should be acknowledged that Australia is at the top of the One Day tree and has been for a long time, playing in the last three, and winning the last two World Cup finals.

I will not attempt to delivery an anthology of all series and matches. Of course, some milestones and moments of glory may be relived but this is more about assessing who and what has made Australia so good. Was it good planning or was it by accident?

When Mark Taylor took over from the great Allan Border, there were plenty of mountains to climb. While AB had built a tough and competitive team, he had left a few things on the “to do” list. They included beating the West Indies in a series, winning a series on the sub-continent – it had been over 25 years since Australia had beaten either India or Pakistan at home, and winning a series against the Boks. Border’s last campaigns were drawn home and away series against South Africa and in fact, Australia had not beaten South Africa in a series since 1957-58 – a very long time, even taking into account the Apartheid exile.

Taylor went on to tick off most of the things on the list. A loss in his first series, against Pakistan, in Pakistan was quickly followed by the West Indies victory. By the time Taylor handed over to Waugh, the South Africans had been conquered and Pakistan had also fallen at the second attempt. That still left India.

Under Steve Waugh, the Australians enjoyed the best win-loss ratio ever enjoyed by a team (41 wins from 57 Tests) and also the longest winning streak in Test history (16 matches). But victory in India was so close, yet still so far away. All others were swept aside but not Dravid and VVS Laxman.

The Ponting era began with a 3-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka in 2004, followed by a series win in India later that year. It must be acknowledged that Australia went two nil up in the first three Tests under the caretaker-captaincy of AC Gilchrist, and lost the final Test upon Ponting’s return. Nonetheless, the victory still comes under the Ponting era. At this point in time, Australia has recorded series wins home and away in each of the most recent series, against every Test nation, except for the last series against India, in Australia. That was drawn 1-1. It is a record that is unthinkably close to perfection. (Footnote: Australia has not had away series against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe)

Before discussing the reigns of the successful leaders, Taylor, Waugh and Ponting, it is important that we go back in time to understand what the current success was born out of. I believe that we must go all the way back to World Series Cricket (WSC).

Days of Darkness
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WSC tore Australia cricket apart. I don’t propose to discuss the evils and virtues of WSC here. The fact is that it happened. My opinion is that it had immeasurable long term benefit for the game as a whole. And it tore the game apart.

The period immediately following the reunion of WSC and establishment cricket saw rocky times. Politics was rife as establishment players such as Border, Hughes, Hogg and Yallop diced for positions with the Chappells, Walters, Hookes, Marsh and Lillee. The fight was not only for positions on the team but also for the leadership. The theatrics of the Hughes and Chappell (G) juggling act are those of folklore. During this time, Australia was able to stay close to the top by virtue of the truly great players mentioned above.

When Kim Hughes fell on his sword in 1985, all that remained was Border. Border, due to his undisputed ability, was the only establishment man to be accepted by the inner sanctum of Lillee and Marsh etc. With the departure of Hughes, the final link, Border aside, to a painful era, it seemed that the wounds of the past would heal and Australian cricket could start afresh under the somewhat reluctant leadership of Captain Border.

But let us not forget that immediately before the 1985 Ashes tour, that the team was completely gutted by the first of the so called South African Rebel tours. I was reminded of the significant impact this had on Australian cricket while watching the most excellent ABC production: Cricket in the 80′s – Rookies, Rebels and Renaissance. Border categorically states that he was distraught.

Over the next two years, Australian cricket hit rock bottom. This included home and away losses to the Kiwis and a series loss in Australia against Mike Gatting’s English team. We should remember that England were not exactly world beaters at the time. England won the series 2-1 and incredibly, those two victories were Gatting’s only wins in 24 Tests as captain!

Out of the Mire
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It was widely acknowledged that something had to be done. In Border’s own words “We weren’t even getting the basics right.”. Enter a new era in cricket: The Coach. And enter (or rather “re-enter”) a word that like it or not, accept it or not, was pivotal in Australia’s rise to the top: “Simmo”. That’s right, Robert Simpson and his methods are acknowledged by them all, from Border to Waugh as being essential to turning Australian cricket around and instilling a work ethic that lead to success. Now that Simmo is long gone, and Steve Waugh, the last link to that era, is gone, when I look at some of the current Australian fielding, I wonder if that work ethic might be losing some priority.

The other major development during this time was the founding of the Australian Cricket Academy in 1987. The role of the ACA was to identify cricket talent, capture that talent and nurture the potential to build Test cricketers. The right people (such as Rod Marsh) were in charge and it worked!

Things turned with a shock World Cup victory in 1987 and over the next seven years, Border’s team and Border, grew in ability and stature and started to knock on the door of being the best team in the world.

The Taylor Era
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Tests: 50
Wins: 26 (52%)
Losses: 13 (26%)
Draws: 11 (22%)

Mark Taylor is my favourite captain during my time of following the game (30 years). I enjoyed his open and honest manner, as did the media, especially after some episodes of surliness from Captain Grumpy. I think Taylor was a good people manager who saw cricket for what it was: A game. Sorry guys, but it is really just a game.

Taylor was an excellent tactician, was aggressive and always played for the win. He was very positive and always batted first when he won the toss. Of course, possessing the greatest spin bowler of all time (and wanting to bowl last) may have contributed but I believe that it was also the expression of a positive and confident mindset. A reflection of this aggression (and the fire power to match) was the low number of draws under Taylor (22%). This has been a characteristic of Australian teams since Taylor up until the present.

And Taylor had the Midas touch – that magical ability to break a partnership with the unexpected, usually a shock bowling change or an unorthodox field setting. It was very rare for the opposition to make a big score against Australia. It is true that the bowling attack was impressive, to say the least, but it was very well used.

I would like to say that “choking chasing small totals” syndrome died with Border. Since Border, Australia has successfully chased many targets, both large and small and rarely failed. It is true that there have been some failures (chasing 150 in 1997 in England and more recently, the debacle chasing 107 in India). It should also be remembered that it is not uncommon for teams to stumble chasing smallish targets on the fifth day because conditions are difficult and the human mind can be weak!! It has been happening throughout the cricketing ages to all teams, at all levels.

I believe that the syndrome lay in Border’s personality. Border was self effacing to a fault and didn’t seem to want to accept that a win was possible until it was actually secured. I remember that in his final ODI at the SCG, with the crowd begging him to bowl and Australia in a commanding position, he said he only allowed himself to bowl the final over because there was more than 36 runs required!! While humility is very Australian, it doesn’t always serve well when chasing small targets.

Taylor did seem to regard the series victory as the primary objective. Such was the teams dominance that the series was often wrapped up with a game to play. Enter “dead rubber” syndrome. More than half of Taylor’s teams losses were “dead rubbers”. It didn’t seem to bother Tubby but others such as Steve Waugh did express some annoyance. Waugh had made it quite clear that he hated the tendency and under his leadership, the team would play to win every match they played.

The Waugh Era
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Tests: 57
Wins: 41 (71.9%)
Losses: 9 (15.8%)
Draws: 7 (12.3%)

At the beginning of 1999, Steve Waugh took the reigns from Mark Taylor following the teams comprehensive defence of the Ashes in Australia.

Waugh’s first assignments as captain were abroad and perhaps he found that the job was not as easy as he envisaged.

His very first Test as captain saw Australia thrash the West Indies, bowling them out in the final innings for just over fifty. Waugh made a duck (like Taylor, who made a pair in his first Test as captain) but the team had humiliated the opposition. Waugh scored centuries in the next two Tests but Australia could not halt a rampaging Brian Lara, who almost single handedly won both matches (with epic innings of 213 and 153*). The last match was won by Australia, thus squaring the series.

A rain-marred series in Sri Lanka ended with the home team winning the series 1-0 after easily winning the first Test. Waugh’s match count was 7-2-3-2 (P-W-L-D).

Dead rubber syndrome was dead alright!! Waugh’s team was losing matches that counted. But of course, I jest. Waugh and his men were about to demonstrate just how to go about winning every match.

Following the loss to Sri Lanka, Australia played a single Test against Zimbabwe on the way home. Match one of the winning streak and also the great Ian Healy’s last Test. Australia then played series against: Pakistan (at home), India (at home), New Zealand (away) and the West Indies (home) and all of those series were clean sweeps. Winning streak: 15

Then followed the much anticipated tour of India. Steve Waugh’s chance to win in India – the unachievable goal of every Australian captain since Lawry. The first Test (in the shadow of the passing of Sir Donald Bradman) went well enough with Australia extending the winning streak to 16 and going one up in the series.

Then followed one of the most celebrated and discussed Tests of all time. We all know that Australia lost the match, having forced India to follow on. And in this match, and looking back to Lara’s performances in 1999, I believe we can see Steve Waugh’s only significant weakness as captain. If Taylor had the Midas touch, there must have been times when Waugh wished some had rubbed off onto him. Several of Australia’s few losses under Waugh came from a position of strength in the match and the series and were achieved by a single innings or partnership that could not be broken. I’m not sure of the reason but I think there are times when some iron-jawed determination could have been replaced with some imagination.

Steve Waugh’s era was the most successful of any captain, for any country, at any time. During this time, Australia was awarded the World Team of the Year in the 2002 Laureus World Sports Awards. It’s a big deal. Really. Steve and some of the boys even went http://www.laureus.com/awards/winners/team02.php

Waugh finished with the most number of wins of any captain and the best win ratio.

After a drawn home series against India, and after many dramas over the preceding 18 months, Waugh retired and handed over to the One Day captain, Ricky Ponting.

The Ponting Era
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Ponting’s reign thus far has been short. He has lost just one of the 14 Tests he has been in charge for. Ponting hasn’t done much wrong and I would assess that his strongest asset so far, put simply, is that he has inherited a “super team”. A team of super stars.

Ponting’s first Test series in charge was away against Sri Lanka. Australia struggled in each match, but clean swept the series. The next series was in India and ironically, the series was won, but under the “caretaker” captaincy of Adam Gilchrist.

Much will be needed of Ponting’s character over the next few years, as he will most likely be in charge as most of his team of super stars retire.