last drinks for one of all the all time great teams.
What a way to finish.
Watching the all time best with their kids out on the pitch celebrating a great victory with the team with champagne everywhere and langer with a tear in the eye you then understand how silly all the statistical arguments can be...this is what it's all about.
Watching the all time best with their kids out on the pitch celebrating a great victory with the team with champagne everywhere and langer with a tear in the eye you then understand how silly all the statistical arguments can be...this is what it's all about.
well said. you just needed to see this australia team in action to appreciate true sporting greatness. with lara, pollock, gilchrist, inzimam and few others also likely to retire after the world cup it really does feel like an end to an era
Gilchrist, Hayden and Ponting stand as reminders of a time gone by.
Ive got a sneaking suspicion that Gilchrist and Hayden will retire after the World Cup, especially if Australia win it. They probably just figured that 5 retirements in one Test was too much.
Originally posted by Mr Watermelon: Looking ahead, you'd say that the matchup between Australia and India next season is set to be a ripper. India may even have the better team on paper.
Pretty hard to make that call seeing as we have no idea who will fill the three vacancies in the Australian team. India's bowling is looking better these days although the batting seems weaker.
Hayden is the one guy I get the feeling might never retire voluntarily. He's still been whiging non stop to the media about being being dropped from the one day team FFS
I dunno, without McGrath and Warne, Australia have a decent bowling attack, but so do India. Not good, not great, decent. Aus may have better batting, but that ain't always the case.
Originally posted by please: it's the same indian batting as 03/04 on paper but back then the big 4 for india were all in top top form.
laxman sehwag and tendulkar all look shadows of the players they were on that tour.
Laxman is only ever at his best against Australia though (so current form is not the best indicator) and Tendulkar only really performed in the final test.
I think the big difference is Sehwag, who has clearly been suffering for some time now. Used to be solid at the top of the order, providing India with blistering starts - excellent record vs Australia too. Even Dravid doesn't seem as solid these days (compared to his normal high standards).
Originally posted by Mo-Mo: I think the big difference is Sehwag, who has clearly been suffering for some time now. Used to be solid at the top of the order, providing India with blistering starts - excellent record vs Australia too. Even Dravid doesn't seem as solid these days (compared to his normal high standards).
One of the outstanding features of the last couple of India-Australia series was Sehwag's explosive batting. Just like Gilchrist in his prime, you feared he could take the game away from you in an instant.
I'd say the selectors would have convinced Hayden and Gilchrist to have one more season.
Otherwise the most experienced player after Ricky Ponting is going to be, wait for it...
Brett Lee!
Losing 324 Tests of experience in one match is bad enough.
If Gilly and Hayden left that would be 503.
We've got good replacements. But nothing can beat experience in the middle. The players who've seen it all play a big role in helping new players fit into the team.
Gilly and Hayden realise they've got a responsibility to fulfil.
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