Something missing
The dangers of being good for too long. The Australian cricket team
Right now, Thursday is my cricket day, and yesterday there was some extra mayo on the sandwich.
Australia were back in whites in Darwin, but the bigger surprise was the lack of connection I felt to the game. The hosts were dismissed for 198 by Bangladesh, who finished on 1-96. I was going to say just 198, but the way Australia batted, it was a decent result.
The lead coach at Victoria U19 training admitted he didn’t really know there was a Test match happening. Another coach in the adjacent lane, who lives and breathes cricket, seemed equally indifferent.
Later, back in Geelong, I sought the solace of a tank-brewed Carlton Draught. The bar was almost empty. No one had anything to say about Hasan Mahmud’s 6-55 or Steve Smith’s lucky 71. The day ended how it started.
Sure, it’s August in a southern state, and the AFL is heading into the pointy end. But that shouldn’t excuse the alarming apathy surrounding this Australian team.
This isn’t a match report. It’s an observation: Australian cricket can become a victim of its own competence. When success comes for long enough, complacency can quietly replace the hunger to succeed, and see past what’s in front of you.
Nick
P.S. I plan to write in more detail over the weekend at speaking.cricket
Nick - I agree with your sentiments. Having a test match in August when the country is so focussed on NRL, AFL and the Wallabies doesn’t help the apathy. I was also surprised at the lack of attendees. I expected more. Sadly, I’m somewhat disillusioned by the whole cricket world presently as I wrote not long ago in ‘The Footy Almanac’ but I won’t go on.
Spot on again Speaky. A victim of their competence. Has their extended success bred arrogance and that’s led to public indifference? Is humility and respect old fashioned too?
I look forward to reading about the cricket because it has been astoundingly confusing TEST cricket batting, even since the ashes if you look at Australian batting without getting distracted by England’s unusual batting too. I don’t really buy some of the commentary.