Before you go onto read Winning in Australia is so bloody tough 2, please read part 1 here
Not just the players but the spectators and the press will be involved
The Australians hunt as a pack. From the time the visitors are in Australia, they are constantly reminded of how poor they are. The morning papers will ensure that the challengers are upto no good. They have merely turned up in Australia only to be smothered and humbled by the home team. Pages upon pages will be written by both the former players and the cricket correspondents showcasing how great the Australian team is and how soft the visitors are. This is unlike in England or India where the newspapers usually prop the visiting team. They derive pleasure in downplaying the home team. Not in Australia though.
Once at the ground, every Aussie supporter will take lot of pleasure to abuse the visitors constantly. It is another story that they do not mind abusing their own Aussies but the adversary will cope a lot more. Just ask the Englishmen. They know because they have been at the receiving end for far too longer than anyone else. Once the spectators gets involved in the proceedings, it becomes doubly difficult for the adversary to concentrate and as a result, they will lose focus. The spectators usually make things a bit more easier for the Aussie bowlers.
Sheer quality of the players
Consider the following list of cricketers. Greg Blewett, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody, Damien Martyn, Stuart Law, Ryan Harris, Michael Bevan, Stuart Clark. These are a set of players who did not get to play for Australia as many games as their talent commanded. Except for Martyn, who had a late career bloom, the rest did not get to play consistently. Grey Blewett had a fabulous initiation to Test Cricket but a few failures, he found himself out of the team and never got back. The rest, after a couple of games, they found themselves out of the team for no fault of theirs. These are cricketers who if they had qualified to play for any other country, would have enjoyed a long and prosperous career.
Harris in a short career, bowled so outstandingly that the prime reason for Australia whitewashing England in 2013 was him though Johnson went away with all the credit. The following series in South Africa, Harris was outstanding again. If he had bowled alongwith McGrath, Australia would have not have lost even the meagre number of games that they did. It was a shame that the depth in Australian talent, did not allow a player of Harris’s ability to play lot more.
Asia teams find it the most toughest
It is the Asian countries consisting of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and recently Afghanistan that find winning in Australia the toughest of their assignments. Not until recently, in 2018, has an Asian team gone on and won a series in Australia. That it took a weakened Australia and a good Indian team to win speaks volumes about the ability of Australia. Considering that India got Test status in 1932 and almost 100 years later, there have been just a couple of series wins by an Asian team. Both were achieved by India. It clearly shows how all the Asian teams never really liked touring Australia. Jayant Lele, the former Indian board selector, once said that India will lose all the tests during their 1999 tour which they promptly did but his comments conveyed the impression that it is not really worth to select a team for Australia.
Absolutely no ground in Asia carry any pace and bounce. Leave alone equivalent to Australian grounds. Except for Pakistan, none of the other teams are blessed with pace bowlers. That is another handicap. You just cannot compete in Australia with slow bowlers and spinners. This is what the rest of the countries possess. The batsmen are not exposed to good fast bowlers and that is a major handicap. As a result, all the Asian batsmen without exception, find facing the Australian bowlers difficult. The height of the Aussie bowlers too play a crucial role because the point of delivery is quite high.
Body language of the Aussies
The moment Australians step onto the field, they exude confidence. Even the most uncompetitive Australian team have proven resilient against their adversary. The post ball-tampering team is an example. They were expected to lose the series to India in 2018 which they did but not before they won one at Perth.
Sports is ingrained in the Aussie system
Sports is something that is ingrained in the Aussie system. Rod Laver remains the only Tennis player who has won all the 4 Grand Slams in the same year, twice. Until recently, Ian Thorpe has won the most number of medals in Olympics. Daniel Riccardio & Mark Webber are a creditable Formula One drivers. Evonne Goolagong, the world’s first mother to win a Wimbledon title. At present, Nick Kyrgios is among the top players in the world. The point is, the Australian men and women take sports seriously in much the same way the Indians take education seriously.
Wrapping up winning in Australia is so bloody tough
Australia still remains a bloody tough country to win. There is no doubt about that. The recent Ashes series, in 2020, where they just blew away England being a case in point. Joe Root, one of the excellent modern day batsman, is yet to score a hundred in Australia. He has scored runs everywhere else. Only the toughest can survive in Australia and it is not a country for the faint-hearted.
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