THE HEARTBREAKS OF FANTASY CRICKET

Cricinfo's Fantasy Cricket game is really driving me nuts. For three days in a row now, I have had less than average days... which means my ranking has fallen from a best of 988 to a worst of 6355. But this is not what is driving me nuts... it's the occasions when I end up being just just just short of bonus points for my team.

After the Australia v. New Zealand game at Nagpur, I was quietly satisfied. Even though I did not have the Man of the Match performer Mitchell Johnson in my team, I had had a good performance by my team's captain Shane Watson, a decent outing for Brett Lee and another okay outing for Michael Clarke.

In fact, in the case of Michael Clarke, I had been very lucky. During Australia's chase of New Zealand's paltry target, Clarke had taken a very go-slow approach and ended up with a Strike Rate of 64.86. In the Fantasy Cricket Scoring system, a Strike Rate of less than 75 is penalised with -15 points. But this penalty is applicable only when the batsman has scored a minimum of 25 runs.

Luckily for me, Clarke was 24* when White scored the winning single on the last ball of the 34th over. Had White played out the over, Clarke would have had to score the winning runs off the newer ball in the next over... and instead of 24 points, I would have earned only 10 points. So much for scoring more runs!

But I did not know that the luck I had in that game would be wiped out by the time the Sri Lanka v. Pakistan game at Colombo came about. There was an entire sequence of bad luck cases that took away crucial and valuable points that I could have earned in this game. Have a look:

TM Dilshan (Captain) - 41 runs of 55 balls at a SR of 74.54 {i.e. (41 - 10 - 15) X 2 = 16 X 2 = 32 points}. Had he batted 1 ball less OR scored 1 run more, his SR would have been above 75, and I would have had 62 points from him.

Kumar Sangakkara - 49 runs from 61 balls with 1 six (i.e. 49 -10 + 6 = 55 points). Had he scored just 1 more runs, I would have has a bonus of 15 points for his fifty. So here I lost another 16 points... 15 for the bonus and 1 for the run.

Nuwan Kulasekara - 24 runs from 14 balls with 1 six at a SR of 171.42 (i.e. 24 + 6 = 30 points). This is the worst case. Had he scored just 1 more, he would have had 25 runs and been eligible for Strike Rate bonus. With 1 more run, his SR would have been 178.57, and I would have had a 50-point bonus for Strike Rate above 175. That means I lost out on another 51 potential points here.

So in effect, by the smallest of margins like 1 run or 1 ball, I have lost almost 100 points in the Sri Lanka v. Pakistan game. With these 100 points, I might well have been placed within the 5000th rank. This is so very frustrating. I just hope that over the next week of the tournament, more of my players win Man of the Match Awards (preferably captains) so that I can gain some ground on those (like Soulberry and Sehwagology) who have surged ahead of me. Beware friends, I'll bounce back!

(P.S. As on 1st March, after the Sri Lanka v. Kenya game, I have overtaken Soulberry and am not far behind Sehwagology... not only am I in top-5000 overall now, but I am in top-600!)

THE BRISBANE TEST - FROM THE NEUTRAL EYE

How quickly fortune can change! Three days into the first Ashes Test, Australia was right on top... leading England by more than 200 runs, having gotten 10 first-innings English wickets without even letting the second new ball become due, centuries for batsmen who had had question marks over their places in the squad and there seemed to exist a tremendous amount of optimism in the media all over the island nation.

Two days later, the tables have as upside down as upside down can be! Whereas less than 77 overs were needed to take the first 10 English wickets, Australia couldn't prise out more than 1 over almost double the number of overs in the second innings. The captain led from the front, then the vice-captain overtook him and went further ahead... and meanwhile, the South African born No. 3 continued his dream run against the Aussies.

Since England won the final 2 days of the drawn Gabba Test, there is naturally a lot of optimism now in the English media and there are talks about momentum and psychological advantage... But putting all this aside, what else can be deduced from this match?

England batted for a total of 228.5 overs and scored 777 runs for the loss of 11 wickets at 3.40 runs per over. Australia, on the other hand, batted for a total of 184.4 overs and scored 588 runs for the loss of 11 wickets at 3.18 runs per over. Given that 302 of England's runs were scored by Alastair Cook (that's 38.88%) and 136 of Australia's runs were scored by Brad Haddin (that's 23.13%), it is surprising to see England scoring a good 0.22 runs per over more than Australia over the duration of the match.

So the numbers too, prima facie, showcase England as the better side over the Test match. But the catch is, they were just slightly better. 'Slightly better' will not be good enough to win the urn, maybe just good enough to retain it.

Australia's problems are being talked of loudly and clearly all over the cricketing world at the moment. But England should realise that they have problems of their own. Australia, even at their worst, can put up a huge fight. England's worst fear right now would be a scenario where Ben Hilfenhaus finds his rhythm (which he is soon bound to), Mitchell Johnson producing one of his once-in-10-Tests brilliant efforts, Doug Bollinger returning to the squad with decent match practice (sorry Peter Siddle, but you are not going to be getting hat-tricks everyday... everyday's not your birthday), Marcus North finding grip and turn with his off breaks and the English batting having its once-in-10-Tests batting collapse... all in the same Test.

But then, England will also be cheered up by the fact that the above scenario is unlikely to occur in the 2nd Test... since it is at Adelaide. So what I am left wondering about now is that if Brisbane has produced only 22 wickets over 5 days (10 of which fell under a cloudy Day 1), what is going to happen at Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne? The flip side is that these venues might just provide the impetus needed to spur a certain Graeme Swann back into the thick of things.

Frankly, the first Test was a let down from what I expected. I hope Adelaide delivers a better show...

THE BANGALORE TEST

Another brilliant Test match, wasn't it? Four results possible at the start of Day 5 and three results possible about an hour and a half into Day 5... all this after a match where three results were possible right till the very last ball was bowled... not at all bad for Test cricket!

I have not blogged over this Test match, but I have followed this Test closely. And so I will try and make up for my lack of blogging with this post.

DAY 1:

Another loss of toss... it is so frustrating to see Dhoni lose all his tosses that this time I did not even bother tuning in for the toss. I thought that maybe if I don't watch the toss live, the coin might favour India. But as it turned out, it did not and our bowlers had to start off their work on Day 1 itself.

Australia dominated Day 1, despite their skipper Ponting falling to a dolly from Raina late in the day. It was a very good knock by Ponting, though he should have gone on to make more. But North was batting at the end of day's play, and because of his feast-or-famine syndrome, the signs were ominous for India.

I think Dhoni erred in giving Raina more overs after the Ponting dismissal. A set batsman can lose concentration against a part-timer... a new batsman is unlikely to. A new batsman concentrates harder while getting set in early... so the part-timer made things easier for North and Paine. Had Dhoni employed his main men then, who knows, it could have been a bigger famine for North and more pain for Paine!

DAY 2:

Australia again took the first session comprehensively before the Indian juggernaut started post lunch. North did well to reach his 5th Test hundred, to the delight of many (read Poms) and chagrin of many others (read Aussies). Pujara effected a brilliant run out, and I was happy. I had read a lot and seen a bit of his prodigious skill with the bat, but I had never known that he was also a very handy fielder. It was a pleasant surprise for me.

When India came out to bat, I was almost expecting Sehwag to get out soon after Hilfenhaus hit his helmet. I didn't know it would happen immediately. How sore! It would have been good to see Sehwag get to atleast 1 big century in the 'series'. Sadly, it was not to be.

But, on the brighter side, Sachin had progressed to smooth 40s with Vijay and India was looking comfortable at the end of day's play.

DAY 3:

I wore the T-shirt that is Sachin's good luck charm... and how it worked! Sachin batted through the day, ended unbeaten on 191, guided Vijay to his maiden ton in Test cricket and ensured that India ended the day in a position of awesome strength.

The sore points were Johnson's shooter that trapped Pujara (I really wanted him to do well with Sachin for company) and then Raina throwing away his wicket at the end of the day.

That wicket of Raina should have taught something to Ponting... that the moment he tried to be a little more attacking by bringing the field in, the batsman perished. He should have used this knowledge more effectively in the 2nd innings against India's newer batsmen. He used this tactic against Sachin Tendulkar when Hauritz was bowling, and saw the master batsman hitting 2 consecutive sixes late in the match. But had he used it against Vijay or Pujara, the results might have been very different.

DAY 4:

I have seen some wonderful under-rated innings in cricket. Ponting's 72 on Day 4 of this Test was amongst the finest of these. But before his innings, it was disappointing to see India's tail fold up so cheaply. I know many bloggers (SB in particular) were rooting for a triple from SRT, but I wasn't that overly optimistic about such an eventuality... but yes, it was delightful to see SRT with another double in the bag.

His dismissal and Dhoni's incapability to bat with the tail (he's no VVS, let alone Steve Waugh) meant that India had just a 17-run cushion. But in a way, the fact that India was bowled out before lunch meant that India could go for a definite positive result in the match. Had India batted along till Tea or more and then declared, that would have shut the game on Australia and then they would have been content to bat very watchfully and play out a draw.

Our capitulation gave the Aussies a sniff and they went after us, which gave us the chance to win. It reminded me of how Ganguly had declared at Kolkata 2001 with just enough to entice the Australians to go for a 17th consecutive Test win. That in the end was what earned us the match, in my opinion.

Since Dhoni was unlikely to declare, its good that we were dismissed. Coming back to Ponting's knock, it was classy. There was high pressure, the pitch was difficult, he had had a poor history in India... and he rose up to the occasion. I may dislike Ponting a lot, but I have to admit that I grudgingly admired this wonderful knock by the Aussie skipper. If anything, that knock ensured that Australia ended the day with a chance of a win.

DAY 5:

The day started with a chance of another Mohali-like finish. It didn't end that way... but it was another good and satisfying day of cricket. Zaheer and Sreesanth bowled well first up, and just when frustration was starting to build up, Zaheer produced a majestic ball that took off Mitchell Johnson's off stump. I was happy that the attack started with the two seamers, because I really didn't want to see the spinners in action again. Our spinners cannot do to the tails what Anil Kumble was capable of... so it's good that they were not needed.

Sehwag failed when we batted, and though I did not want it, I was kind of expecting it. During the commercial break at the fall of Sehwag's wicket, I had gone to take a leak and when I returned, my dad told me that Pujara has come in to bat. I was sure that he was mistaken, but as it turned out, he was not. Immediately, I told him that this is one very smart move.

It could have backfired... and backfired big time. Pujara could have failed, and then coming down the order, Dravid also might have continued his poor run of form and poor record at Bangalore. The batting below him is not our strength (especially on last day pitches) and we could have lost the match with that move. But it was a good move nevertheless.

I have already mentioned how Ganguly had declared in Kolkata 2001 at a stage where Aussies could still go for a win. This move was similar... a Ganguly-type-of risk. Aussies saw two young men in a high pressure situation and decided to attack them. The young men knew what would come and had already decided to counterattack. It worked out perfectly in the end. By the time lunch came around, the match was almost in the bag and Pujara, in particular, had shown that he belongs.

The Master came along and helped himself to another unbeaten half-century, and was there at the other end and Pujara soaked in the adulation on his maiden half-ton... Sachin must have though of Faisalabad 1989! It was heart-breaking to see the expression on Pujara's face when he was dismissed by Hauritz. But don't worry Che, as the Bangalore crowd stood up in the acknowledgement of your efforts, there were million others in India who stood up in front of their TV screens doing the same. All these fans slept peacefully at night knowing that the future of Indian batting, that for over a decade was carried by the likes of RSD, SRT and VVS, still looked positive in the form of CHE.

It was nice to see Sachin blast a couple more out of the ground against Nathan Hauritz (almost felt pity for him then)... few must have realised that Sachin Tendulkar has hit more sixes in this Bangalore Test than he hit over the entire duration of IPL 2010 where he was the top run-getter. This got the crowd (which was fantastic over the 5 days) into a frenzy. The KSCA deserve a pat on their backs for this, I believe.

But the best move by Dhoni was reserved for right at the end. Guess who was the first person to get his hands on the Border Gavaskar Trophy after Dhoni had collected it from SMG... yes, it was CHE! Dhoni gave Che the trophy at the end of the presentation and that got the lad beaming... it was great to watch!

Technically, Che played a very small role in India retaining that piece of silverware... just 2 catches at Mohali. The result at Bangalore would not have mattered as that trophy would have stayed in India. But technicalities don't matter here... we were watching Che make a mark... finally!

P.S.: I wore the T-shirt that is Sachin's good luck charm again on Day 5. So, all in all, it meant that on the days when I wore that T-shirt, Sachin scored exactly 200 runs without being dismissed (and yes, hit Hauritz four times over the ropes).

RANDOM FACTS AT THE END OF DAY 3

1. This was Sachin Tendulkar's 8th dismissal in the nineties in Test cricket... taking him to the 4th position alongside Kallicharran (WI) and Inzamam (Pak) in the all time list of most dismissals in the 90s behind Dravid (10), Steve Waugh (10) and Michael Slater (9).

2. Tendulkar also has 17 dismissals in his 90s in ODI cricket and 1 other occasion when he remained not out in his 90s. In One Day Cricket, this 18 occasions of being stranded in the 90s is a comfortable World Record... way ahead of 2nd-placed Grant Flower (Zim), Aravinda De Silva (SL) and Nathan Astle (NZ) at 9. Amusingly, Sachin would have had 52 tons in Tests and 55 in ODIs had he converted even half of his forays to the nineties into 100s!

3. On Day 2, Virendra Sehwag scored a fifty... and as a result, he has now managed a 50+ score in each of his last 11 Tests... a world record he jointly holds now with Sir Viv Richards (WI) and Gautam Gambhir (Ind). Gambhir had a chance to break Viv's record against South Africa at Nagpur earlier this year, but he failed. Will Viru go one better at Bangalore against the Aussies?

4. Sachin Tendulkar is not behind the above trio... he's now scored a 50+ score in each of his last 9 Tests. In fact, Sachin has scored a 50+ score in 17 of his last 19 Tests (starting from the match in which he surpassed Brian Lara... at the same ground and against the same opposition as he is playing now). What a phenomenal time he is having!

5. On Day 2, Zaheer Khan's 5-wicket haul was the 100th instance of a 5-for being recorded in an India-Australia Test match. Mitchell Johnson's 5-64 becomes 101st.

6. Mitchell Johnson is now the 8th highest wicket taker for Australia against India in Tests (34 wickets). Amongst the top 10 for Australia against India, Johnson has the 2nd worst average (32.79) after Shane Warne (43 @ 47.18)!

7. This is the 2nd time in 3 Tests that Marcus North has gotten a batsman out in his 90s. He got Salman Butt (Pak) stumped on 92 at Lord's before getting Sachin Tendulkar lbw today on 98.

100 RUNS TOO MANY

Salman Butt: The Key Man

Target 440. Too much! Pakistan were in a situation yesterday when they had the chance to dismiss Australia for at least 100 runs short of what they eventually managed. The target would then have been 340... and at their current stage (148 for 1... incidentally, they were 148 for 10 in the 1st innings), they would have needed just 192 more runs with 9 wickets in hand.

That would have been a sure shot way to put Ricky Ponting under immense pressure... and he's not been the best of captains when the tide is not in his team's favour! But all that is fiction!

Right now, Pakistan is still 292 runs short of their target with 9 wickets in hand. Salman Butt is unbeaten on 80 and Azhar Ali on 40... both having made a positive start on Day 4. The weather forecast reads 'Partly Cloudy' and Miller in the Cricinfo commentary team says that the sun will be out during the day. So all in all, things do look positive for Pakistan.

But I really doubt it... Pakistan chasing down a 4th innings target of 440 against an Australian attack of Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson seems an extremely unlikely scenario to me.

TEAM INDIA FOR WORLD CUP 2011: PART 2

(contd...)

I have a feeling that Dhoni will prefer Yusuf over Jadeja... though I would prefer otherwise. Despite his torrid performances lately, I still find Jadeja as a much safer slow bowling option... particularly in 50-over cricket. Plus, he will turn the ball away from the right-hander, which should complement well with Harbhajan's off-spin. There are arguements for including Yusuf for his batting abilities. But then, all those abilities come to nought the moment he faces up to a pacer. And batting at No. 7, he is bound to face pacers at all times. Even if he is promoted up the order, the opposition captains will bring their pacers in immediately. His tryst with the short deliveries has been well noted and documented. Yusuf could not even get his bat to touch the ball on the last 2 balls of India's innings against Zimbabwe because they were bowled short by a certain medium pacer by the name of Mpofu. Imagine the damage that can be caused by a Dale Steyn or a Mitchell Johnson.

Coming to the bowling department now. The team is likely to go in with 3 pacers and a lone spinner in the form of Harbhajan Singh. The pacers are likely to be Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar. There is a small question mark over Zaheer's form and a larger one over Praveen Kumar's place in the side. Though I am not particularly worried about Zaheer Khan, the third pacer's spot is certainly a cause of worry for MS Dhoni. He does not want his first change bowler to become a target for the opposition's top order... a bowler that will release the pressure after the new ball spell. There are several boys who will be eyeing Praveen Kumar's place: Vinay Kumar, S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma... and many others. But I am not sure about any of them. It is quite possibly the weakest link of the squad.

As you might have noted... there is hardly anything similar between the ideal Team India for the World Cup and the team that lost to Zimbabwe. Suresh Raina... that's just about it. But the guys like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik and Vinay Kumar are likely to be the other members of the 15-men squad... the replacements in case of injuries, losses of form or commitment issues. And that is where the greater problem lies.

Are they good enough? Bobilli Vijay Kumar, in his article in Times of India titled 'Second String or Second Class?' ponders upon this issue. Maybe a Rohit Sharma will manage a 100 against a Zimbabwe and a Virat Kohli may do slightly better by hitting a 100 against Sri Lanka, but when they are under pressure... a knockout stage of a World Cup... a team as strong as Australia... backs to the wall situation... will they be able to deliver? They have done nothing so far to show that they can.

TEAM INDIA FOR WORLD CUP 2011: PART 1

TEAM INDIA HAS BEEN SELECTED: CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT THE TEAM


What's the immediate goal for the Indian team? Obviously, it is identifying and preparing a squad for the World Cup 2011? To that effect, how much does the loss to Zimbabwe affect the plans?

What is the batting order expected to be like when the World Cup begins in February next year? The top order is expected to be Virendra Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir. The middle order would comprise of Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. This would be the ideal top-6 if all the men are in form... fit and firing.

Currently however, there are question marks over form, fitness, commitment... just about everything. Most of those question marks, I believe, would be cleared by the turn of the year. One question that threatens to remain is that of Yuvraj Singh's attitude and commitment to Team India's cause. His waistline is causing a lot of problems for Team India and a lot of angst for fans because they can see a potential exceptionally-gifted match winner being wasted away.

There are limited all-round options... just Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja. There is no pace all-round option... but in the short term, we do not need it. Pace-bowling all rounder is not going to be of much help in the sub-continent, unless he is of a Jacques Kallis pedigree. So, for now, we just have to be content with these two. In the first 11, only 1 of the 2 is likely to get the chance. After the top-6, Dhoni is likely to play an all-rounder at 7 followed by 4 bowlers... 3 of whom are likely to be seamers.

(contd...)

LIP SERVICE

Australians have always been famous for their lip service methods... and Shane Watson showed a small example of it yesterday in the Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians match yesterday.

I had written a blog regarding the unruly behaviour of Australians after the Scott Styris - Mitchell Johnson incident last month. I wouldn't go so far to call Shane Watson's behaviour unruly this time, but it was certainly not sporting.

At some point during the telecast of the match yesterday, the points tally of the Fair Play Award came up. It showed that Rajasthan Royals were languishing at the 7th position. At that time, one of the commentators said that it might be because of Shane Warne and Shane Watson. And he wasn't far off the mark!

Shane Warne is a master at mind games - both subtle as well as brutal. His continuous emphasis on RR's 'home' record and 'fortress' comments have been seen by many as comments to intimidate the opponents before the match begins. Shane Watson, who has been booked even in the past, showed off his aggro once again yesterday. He got the wickets of Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary by setting them up - not with his bowling - but with his eyes and lips.

Rayudu played a firm push down the ground. Watson fielded the ball, stared with fire right into the batsman's eyes, turned back, bowled a well-directed bouncer, got the glove and got his man. I have no issues with that. So lets fast forward a bit.

In his next over, Watson, in his follow-through, serves a few words to Saurabh Tiwary, who had looked good in his short stay at the crease. He again dug one in short, Tiwary went for a pull, could not connect well, and ended up sending a simple catch to wide fine leg. Watson then celebrated by pumping his fists right in front of the batsman, who had no choice but to depart. That is where I have problem.

A celebration of that sort is very unfitting of a sportsman, and this is not the first time Watson has done it (ask Chris Gayle for more information). When you have a batsman out, you have won a battle... you don't need to rub it in to prove it. Watson's tendency to rub it in gives me a feeling that he is insecure and uncertain of his own talents... that is why he needs to show the batsman that he has won the battle even after the result is clear. That's not what Shane Warne does! In fact, Warne's most typical method of celebrating is one of the best I have seen in the game.

He srceams with joy, pumps his fists, congratulates himself, and if the battle with the batsman had been a tough one, he smiles at the departing batsman in an acknowledgement of the same. This shows that he is ready for another battle with the batsman, unlike Watson, who gets over the top.

But despite all of Watson's antics, one has to ask Rayudu and Tiwary about what they were thinking in attempting those strokes. Yes, they had been instigated. But did they not realise it then that Watson wanted those very strokes from them? This is what separates boys from men! They don't have to look too far for examples. They must have noticed by now that no bowler tries to work Sachin Tendulkar up even if he is beaten by a 'jaffer'. That is because Sachin responds very positively to such non-cricketing tactics, unlike what Rayudu and Tiwary managed yesterday.

These young men will have more chances to prove that they have learnt from this incident, and they will need to prove a point. In the Chennai Test against England in December 2008, Yuvraj Singh was softened up by Andrew Flintoff using a few choice words. Yuvraj proceeded to throw his wicket away next over by edging straight to slip (yes, it was Freddie in the slips)!

In the next innings, with India chasing 387 for a win, match nicely set up and hanging in balance, and the pitch a little crumbly, it was time to Yuvraj to show his mettle. Freddie was there again with a few words... but Sachin helped Yuvraj distract himself from that battle and concentrate on the game. Eventually, Yuvraj played a crucial role in helping India reach that target and most were very impressed by that performance.

If Rayudu or Tiwary manage something like that, it will be a great confidence booster for them just as it will be great for the Indian team. I really wish to see that happen!

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE GAME GETS DIRTY

On Straight Points, I read about how Australians seem to react in an unruly manner when they are under pressure. After reading the article, I went into my pensieve, recalling all the incidents I remembered of Australia's behavioural troubles.

The most recent one, obviously, is the one involving Mitchell Johnson and Scott Styris. As rightly pointed out by Straight Points, Australia was the team under pressure as Styris was looking to pull of the chase comfortably, which he eventually did.

In the third Test at Perth on the West Indies' tour, Shane Watson was fined for his send-off celebrations after Chris Gayle's wicket. And Mitchell Johnson featured again, alongwith Brad Haddin this time, in an altercation with Sulieman Benn. This came at a time when the team from Caribbean had shown the Aussies in the previous Test that they are not going to be pushovers.

The next one I recalled was the 'elbow' incident between Shane Watson and Gautam Gambhir. This happenned at a time when the Australian bowling attack was being clobbered to all parts of the Ferozeshah Kotla at New Delhi after being 1-0 down in the series.

Then there is the very infamous 'Monkeygate' scandal between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh. This again came at a time when a partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh was flourishing, and had put the Australian bowling under pressure.

In May 2003, in the match where West Indies created the world record of successfully chasing the highest 4th innings target against Australia at Antigua, there were a couple of incidents I recall. For these two incidents, I searched the Wisden Almanack's report on this match and here are a couple of quotes:

"On the second morning, Lara walked out to bat in a bellicose frame of mind, had exchanges with three Australians before he faced his first ball, from Lee, and duly hammered it over point for six. Lara spent the first half-hour of his innings arguing furiously with his tormentors, and at one stage stood toe to toe with Waugh, who had moved to short cover to pepper him with more chat, causing umpire Shepherd to intervene briefly. It was an unedifying spectacle, though no further action was taken by umpires or referee."

"As Sarwan approached a mature hundred, there were signs that Australia were losing the plot. McGrath, who started the verbal war, became utterly incensed at Sarwan's riposte - he apparently referred to McGrath's wife. After a set-to with the batsman, he wagged his finger at umpire Shepherd, demanding he get involved. Despite this, no official action was taken, though once pictures were beamed round the world both the ACB and ICC castigated the Australians and called on them immediately to mend their ways."

James Sutherland, the then Chief Executive of Cricket Australia (then Australian Cricket Board), told the media: "It's all very well to be playing the game in the right spirit when things are going your way, but if things are not going your way, that's when the real test is on. If you can't carry yourself in the true spirit of the game at those times, perhaps you need to have a good look at yourself."

And the last incident that I recalled, perhaps the most infamous of them all, one that occured long before I was even born, was the Chappell brothers' underarm incident. New Zealand needed six to tie the match. Even if Greg had not instructed his brother Trevor to go for the underarm approach, its doubtful that Brian McKechnie, the Kiwi on strike, would have hit the ball in the stands. It was the first ball he was facing in the innings and he was not renowned for any pyrotechnics with the bat (his career strike rate in ODIs: 37.24 without a single 6 and just four 4s in his till then 13 ODIs). Yet, Australia slumped to a new low in gamesmanship with that one act.

In this article, I have just pointed out the occasions when Australian behaviour on the cricket field created controversies off it. I have restrained myself from being extremely judgmental. However, I must state that I cannot think of any other team that has so many cases of apparent unruliness when the tide is not in their favour. When I think of the Indian team (there are certain controversial characters in there too), such cases come out only when they are on top. I guess it would make a good case study, if you are interested in psychology.