The Comeback of Australian Team

Australia vs. South Africa

24th March, 2018 third day, post lunch

Cameron Bancroft was spotted by the camera, when he used a small yellow object to rub the ball. This was shown repeatedly in the screens. The umpires then approached him to ask what he rubbed the ball with. Bancroft showed his sunglass pouch from his pocket, as per the Law 41.3 in the Laws of Cricket, the umpire should give the ball to opponent team (South African) for replacing it or award South Africa 5 runs if there was a noticeable change in the ball. The umpires after examining the ball; found no physical changes, hence the game continued. After day 3 during the post match conference, Steve Smith (Captain) accepted that Bancroft was trying to alter the conditions of the ball using a yellow adhesive so that, the dirt and sand does not get stuck on to the ball easily. This will slow down the ball from getting older which will make it easier for the fast bowlers to swing the ball. Smith admitted that he knew the plan. Warner was also involved in this scandal; he demonstrated how to use the tape to Bancroft during the lunch break. Darren Lehman the coach was not involved in this scandal and he gave a statement saying that he will not step down as a coach. Smith, Warner and Bancroft had been told to step down from their positions, Smith and Warner were banned for a year and Bancroft was banned for 9 months from playing any form of cricket. South Africa won the third test by 322 runs. They also won the fourth test by 492 runs. After the fourth test, Darren stepped down from the coach position. Then Justin Langer former Australian player was appointed as the coach.

On May 3, 2018 Justin Langer (JL) took up the role of the Australian team coach, with the aim to change the mindset of people about Australian cricketers. He was enthusiastic to work with the team; his difficult task was to train them because they were young blokes trying to improve their cricket and were not experienced players. Tim Paine was appointed the team captain, Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns were also added as replacements for Warner and Bancroft. The recent documentary called “The Test” was released and is streaming on Amazon Prime which explains the challenges that Australian Cricket team went through to regain their position.

First JL wanted to get the team together as one team and make sure that everyone was on the same page. JL wanted to put together a team of men, team of cricketers who can be successful on and off the cricket field. He had young blokes with very less experience and he had to train and select the best 15 for the World Cup which was almost a year away. He believed that he can bring back the team together because, he was a cricket player and he had been in their shoes before hence he can understand their feelings and help them gets better and better. He also believed that, it is not important to be a good cricketer but to a good person. Before the first match against England he told the team, “the media will be ruthless, the crowd will be ruthless but never get on your nerves and we shouldn’t abuse the opponent team because there is zero gain from that but we should banter, I need to see a lot of banter in the field”. After losing the first ODI against England, during a press conference the media told Langer Australia should play like New Zealand blah blah but Langer replied, “we will play like Australia and we have a proud history which no other team has and always be the No 1 team”. After the second ODI JL appreciated Paine, with a bleeding nose he still kept for the team and pulled off a stunning catch. Then he told the team “your captain showed it to you all today, from now no one should say oh I got niggle and I need to rest, I need to see more of the that responsibility from you blokes in the room“. Before the players went to the ground for the third match he said “concentrate on the ball, every Australian cricketer has been great at the process of the ball and this is the way for us to get to 320 or more”. With a lot of highs and lows during the 12-13 month period, Aussies played with Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and England and strived for success.

Few months before the World Cup, JL asked help from former Australian players to help the team get better to win the World Cup. He was also relieved that Warner and Smith joined the team right before World Cup which increases the overall strength of the team. Aussies ended their World Cup journey in semi’s after losing to England. With a positive note from the World Cup, Aussies had their biggest task at hand, the most famous Ashes series. Australia won the first test by 251 runs but, there was nothing to celebrate until the trophy was won. The second test was drawn, and the third test was won by England by 1 wicket with a remarkable performance by Ben Stokes in the second innings 135 runs not out. England was still in the game to win the series. Aussies won the fourth test by 185 runs and still had high hopes of winning the series, in the fifth test England won by 135 runs and the series was drawn at 2-2. Although Aussies retained the Ashes after 20 years, they still had the sorrow of not winning the Ashes. After the test Justin Langer said “what I am most proud about is that Australians are proud about the team again” that shows that Justin has fulfilled his purpose of bringing back the team together.