Relentless and Ruthless: Australia, Test Match Champions of the World
Day 5, World Test Championship, The Oval
Day 5, World Test Championship, The Oval
Australia 469 all out and 270–8 declared
India 296 all out and 234 all out
Australia are World Test Champions by 209 runs
For 15 rather carefree minutes at the start of today’s play at The Oval, Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane made exactly 15 runs and nearly all came via neat, easy deflections from both batsmen into the corridor wide of the “Gully” position and between “Point” and “Third Man”. Imagine hitting or, more appropriately, guiding a ball at a 35–40 degree angle and please now be assured, I will refrain from using boring cricketing field positions and only use this beginning to make a larger overall, pun unintended point. For Ricky Ponting on colour TV commentary, that genius with a cricketing willow in his hands and second only in command in the “Mr Grumpy” stakes to fellow Australian legendary captain Allan Border, was approaching apoplexy as he decried his country’s tactics and it was all rather a little too easy and cosy for his demanding liking. Kohli and Rahane coasted to 15 easy runs, reducing the target needed for victory today of 280 to a slightly reduced 265.
Just a smidge under two hours later, a dominant Australia had blown India away, taking the required 7 wickets for a cost today of just 70 runs, and were crowned World Test Champions by a mighty 209 runs.
Mr Grumpy saw his nation’s latest cricketing folk hero rip the heart out of the Indian batting order with three incredible deliveries, one even better catch and yet another catch for the wicket-keeper behind the stumps who must surely have pushed the eventual “Man of the Match” incredibly close for that personal accolade. The skipper grabbed wickets, both talismanic middle order batsmen scored runs. The fighting alley cat at the top of the order looks in great batting “touch” and their unfeasibly young all-rounder continues to snag unreal catches, take wickets and score runs.
All told, Australia are the Test Match cricket Champions of the World. But that’s just the name of the nation they proudly play for. This is a team, a team of street fighting mates who have that Australian trait and desire to win and win again. Childhood friends. Fierce bloody competitors. A humble folk hero. A team. A tight, relentless and ruthless team and what’s more, I haven’t even mentioned Travis Head (Man of the Match) or that the starting XI that I’m alluding to here is actually a 13 man team, correctly a squad obviously, but a “team” that with the return of Marcus Harris and Josh Hazlewood arguably becomes even stronger and, this is as near as damnit the same bunch of Australian mates who thoroughly smashed England all around their home country for a 4–0 win (should have been 5–0) just 18 months ago.
The Ashes are just four days and a handful of hours away, and Australia look in mighty fine form. In defeating India by a 209 run margin, the fighting alley cat that is David Warner scored runs, so too the pugnacious and brutal middle order batting of Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head. I ended yesterday’s diary entry by positing that Alex Carey’s contribution at wicket-keeper shouldn’t be overlooked, with over 100 total match runs including a 66 not out in the 2nd innings and 3 more catches today to make six in total from a blemish free match behind the stumps. Cameron Green belies his youthful age to catch everything at “Gully” and take vital wickets too, his captain Pat Cummins grabbed 4 wickets in the match, bowling mate Mitchell Starc too and “The Goat” or “Gary”, “Gaz”, “Gazza” or just simply Nathan Lyon, snaffled four 2nd innings wickets almost unnoticed. Probably because folk hero Scott Boland ripped out the heart of the Indian batting line-up in three unplayable balls and this team, this tightly bonded team and oh so typically bloody, gritty and relentless Australian team, are primed and ready to go at Edgbaston on Friday.
Their only dilemma as they celebrate this evening is whether Usman Khawaja (0 and 13) stays in the team ahead of Marcus Harris and how Josh Hazlewood fits into their bowling attack now that he’s been declared and pronounced fit. Quite the dilemmas (plural) for the newly crowned Champions of the World! I foresee Khawaja staying and because I have a soft spot for their folk hero Scott Boland, I see Hazlewood replacing Mitchell Starc. I don’t see how Australia can leave out their folk hero (eerie shades of their paceman from years past Peter Siddle) but like England, the Aussies will have to rest and rotate their fast bowlers throughout the next six weeks and five Test Matches for the destiny of that little urn filled with the ashes of a burnt bail from centuries past.
You don’t have dilemmas such as these as you ramble alongside a canal in the heart of central England, which is where I spent the rest of an afternoon when I was rather hoping to see an incredible Indian fightback and a team of Aussies toiling for a last gasp victory. Alas it was all too easy for the Australian machine and boy oh boy do we have the prospect of a humdinger of an Ashes Series on the horizon! Passing the time as we walked along the Shropshire Union Canal fresh from last night’s thunder storm and ahead of presumably another one this evening, I told my beautiful son that in the year 1882 a cricket bail was burnt and the ashes preserved in a little urn and to this day, this is the origin of The Ashes and why England and Australia will once again do cricketing battle this coming English Summer. I told him it was only 4 inches high and is preserved in a glass case at the home of cricket, and he looked at me like I was a mouldy piece of cheese and with disbelieving eyes at the sheer excitement and joy on my face as I told him this utterly pointless fact.
Come on! I’m allowed to be a little bit excited.
The Ashes starts in four days.
Thanks for reading. Linked below are my daily recaps for Days 1 through 4 of this World Test Championship:
Aussies set down dominant marker ahead of The Ashes
Day 1: World Test Championship, The Oval.medium.com
Australia on course to be World Test Champs after just 2 days at The Oval
Day 2, World Test Championship, The Oval.medium.com
Green “screamer” at The Oval as Australia favourites for World Crown
Day 3, World Test Championship, The Oval.medium.com
Welcome to the Pleasuredome! Final day shoot-out to decide World Test Champions
Day 4, World Test Championship, The Oval.medium.com