Because The Nation Wants To Know!

Not far is the day when Arnab Goswami would be accusing me of being a traitor and not supporting the Indian Cricket Team and in fact cheering for their major rival, Australia (no, not Pakistan).

On being asked why I support and adore Australia as a team, I've always said because they play very well. It’s the most basic answer I could give to avoid all further conversations which would end up in me being called a ‘deshdrohi’. However, I think it's time I gave everyone an honest answer.

Secretly admiring the Aussies, I remember yelling “Gilly Gilly Gilly!” as Adam Gilchrist walked out to bat. Back then, my knowledge of cricket was smaller than the boundaries at Chinnaswamy stadium. As I grew older, I understood the game, the technicalities and the emotions and morals attached to it.

The Aussies have been dominating cricket ever since they played their first Test match against England in 1877 and the graph’s only gone upwards and onwards. There have been ups and downs and ‘rebuilding phases’ but losing hope is one thing that never happened. Winning 3 consecutive World Cups, not even qualifying for the top 4 in the next one and getting back to winning ways in the 2015 WC is truly commendable. From Don Bradman and his remarkable Test average of 99.99 to Mitchell Starc being the fastest lad to take 100 wickets in the ODI format, Australia’s produced some of the best players. Cricketing legends like Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, to name a few, have emerged from this country.

 

While every captain and every player played his own part, Ricky Ponting did wonders for the men in yellow. He has strengthened the roots of cricket in Australia. Registering 2 World Cup triumphs, 2 Champion Trophy titles and the highest number of ODI and Test wins under his captaincy, it’s a no-brainer that he is Australia’s most successful captain. Representing Australia’s golden era, he was a born leader. He once said and I quote, “We play matches to win or lose, seldom to draw them.” This is one thing that will stay with me forever.

Their passion, determination and hunger for success are enough to scare the opposition. To remain at the top after the retirement of almost the entire legendary Australian team is indeed an ordeal which they successfully managed to do, well-led by Michael Clarke.

I am absolutely proud of the way they play in every match but a special few will remain with me forever. It was India’s tour of Australia in 2016. Australia had already won the series and was looking for a whitewash now in the 5 ODI competition. Australia scored a mammoth 348 credit to heroics from Finch, Warner and Smith. India’s Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli both scored centuries and brought India to stage where they need 71 runs from 76 balls to win with 9 wickets in hand.

The match was one-sided hereon and Indian fans were ecstatic to register their first win in the tournament. Hardly did they know that Aussies would come back harder in the last 12 overs and take India for a ride from 277-1 to 323-10. My belief in their #NeverGiveUp spirit only gets stronger with every match. In the 2015 World Cup, it was Australia’s first match in New Zealand against the home team and they crumbled. The Aussies struggled to bat and managed to score a petty 151. There was no way Australia could defeat the Kiwis and they couldn’t. But here’s the deal. New Zealand got off to a flying start in the run chase after Brendon McCullum’s 24-ball 50 but they ended up winning only by one wicket. Mitchell Starc held his nerve and destructed the New Zealand batting line up. This is the team I support. They fight till the last ball of the match. They never crumble under pressure. Their confidence is always at a high and they never lose their calm. They’re always in the front seat when it comes to chasing a score, no matter how high it is. Sticking to their plans is one thing but formulating different plans according to the situation is another.

Often are they called hubristic or egoistic due to the way they speak and play. In my opinion, it’s their determination to prove all the critics wrong. Always being humble about their losses and being modest after every win is something highly influencing. Tomorrow is a new day and it has a different task; the results of the past matches are in no way to affect their future performances.

John Arlott, an English journalist wrote "Australianism means single-minded determination to win - to win within the laws but, if necessary, to the last limit within them. It means where the 'impossible' is within the realm of what the human body can do, there are Australians who believe that they can do it - and who have succeeded often enough to make us wonder if anything is impossible to them. It means they have never lost a match - particularly a Test match - until the last run is scored or their last wicket down."