Australian Cricket Team – The Epitome of Aggression, Audacity, and Achievement

Irrespective of the team you support, one cannot deny that the Australians bring to the table their brand of aggressive cricket, which makes them one of the most followed and simultaneously despised teams on the planet. No wonder, they are the top-dogs when it comes to ‘Test-Cricket,’ the original version. Their passion and aggression seep through to their followers, and one can note that test-cricket is still a rage among the cricketing fans of Australia. One of the oldest teams to pick up the game, they have carved a niche for their fiery brand of cricket. If you believe in the saying that – “Imitation is the best form of flattery,” then in a way every other team idolizes them as with time, the top teams and players are increasing their aggressive quotient. And, that may be a crucial factor in making the games more competitive and exciting.

 

History

The first match they played was in the year 1877 against their arch-rivals – England, and to their credit they secured the win by 45 runs. Charles Bannerman scribed his name in the record books during this match with the first Test Century ever. During the ‘Golden Age’ of Australian cricket between the year 1890 to 1900, they decimated both the English and the South Africans by winning eight out of ten tours. Victor Trumper established himself as one of Australia’s first sporting legends and batting maestro prior to Don Bradman on these tours.

Bradman, rightly considered as the best batsman to walk on earth showed his pedigree during his first tour of England in 1930. Towering above everyone he made 974 runs in the series, which included a triple century, two double centuries, and a century. Banking on Bradman, the peg of the “Unstoppables,” the Aussies won nine out of ten tests that they played next after this series. Douglas Jardine, the ruthless English captain during the 1932-1933 series introduced the “Bodyline” bowling style spearheaded by Harold Larwood to stop Bradman on his tracks to secure an average greater than one hundred. 

 

Resurgence

Led by consecutive aggressive captains – Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting, the ‘Kangaroos’ leaped ahead once again in the 1990s and kept it rolling even in the early 2000s. They became the first team to achieve a hat-trick of ‘World-Cups.’ Even in tests, they won against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, rubbed salt to the English wounds by white-washing them 5-0 in 2006-2007.  After this massive victory, their key players called it a day, nearly achieving everything possible for champions.

Australia, currently led by Tim Paine and coached by Justin Langer (one of the heroes of Australia’s resurgent dominance), they are trying to steer the ship in the right direction. Like all other teams, they don the classic ‘white’ during the test, and in sync with their military mettle, they wore the ‘Baggy Green’ as caps. Love them or hate them, you simply cannot ignore them, they would always be on your face with their barge of slangs and bumpers.