Uniploar cricket world

The world of cricket has become unipolar. There are the others and then there are the Aussies. World Cup 2007 was the most one sided world cup I have seen. While 15 other teams were able to match each other none of them came even close to challenging the Aussies. The Aussies didn’t lose a single match, they didn’t even come close to losing any!!

I don’t believe the other teams were short on talent. But what the others (especially India and Pakistan) lacked was confidence, determination, discipline and attitude.

When Matt Hayden or Ricky Ponting play they don’t have to worry about what will happen if they get out. They know the next guy is as capable as them. He will come out and hammer the opposition. They have confidence in each other’s abilities. Contrast that with India. I’m sure that when Sachin plays he would be thinking that if he gets out and another wicket also falls quickly it will be disaster.

Then there is the question of determination. For the Aussies nothing is impossible. They will keep trying. Other teams have been known to give up easily. I still remember that match where Prabhakar and Mongia faced a run-a-ball target but still played as if they had 50 more overs to bat.

When Aussies bowl they bowl with discipline. McGrath is a classic example. He’s not fast. But he gets it right each time. Bowlers like Sri Lanka’s Malinga are talented but unpredictable. They may bowl 5 good balls in a over but will stray on the 6^th and the batsman will happily punish him for that.

With all this comes an attitude, a belief that they are the best. Way to go Aussies.