A timeline of Australian cricket from 1999 to 2015

The Australian team celebrate with the 2015 World Cup trophy

Australia is a nation renowned for its versatility and accomplishments in innumerable sporting fields. The countless victories & numerous trophies they have collected over the years have made ‘yellow’ a symbol of excellence. In cricket, they have seen many triumphs, including the saga of a decade-long unquestionable dominance.

I wasn’t a cricket buff, but one fine afternoon I decided to take a time travel to the past to know more about this ‘wonder team’. It’s better to experience the past than to learn it from the history tomes.

1999 World Cup triumph

The Australian team poses with the 1999 World Cup trophy

And I set off in my exceptionally engineered time-machine. I turned the clock back to June 18, 1999. I met a septuagenarian who got just discharged from a hospital in England after suffering a minor heart attack. I came to know that he was a South African who came to Birmingham in order to watch the South Africa – Australia cricket World Cup semi-final. His despondent face had been reflecting the result of the match.

However, I asked him, “Did South Africa lose the match?” He stared at me for a couple of seconds and replied, “No. But Australia won.”

On my persistent demand, he explained me the whole drama of the epic match which left millions shell-shocked. I felt sorry for the old man, and I made a futile attempt to raise his spirits.

“This is just a match, don’t get disappointed. One day, even Zimbabwe will beat the Australians,” I said remembering Zimbabwe’s historic win over Australia in 2014.

He responded with a little giggle, which turned out to be a wild laugh in seconds. He hooted with laughter just as if I said something extremely funny.

“There’s a rumour that the world is going to end this year. And believe me, I’m a bit scared. But what you said right now is never gonna happen,” he said with an intermittent stutter.

Anyway, that result marked the beginning of a new era. Some prodigious talents of the Kangaroo nation were brought together by a mysterious force to give birth to a formidable cricket team. In no time, they stamped their authority and supremacy in the gentleman’s game. The world admiringly called them - ‘The mighty Aussies’.

Just as we speak in Astrology, it was indeed an auspicious combination of ‘stars’. They had the unmatched accuracy of Glenn McGrath, the powerful wrists of Shane Warne which could extract spin from any surface, the safest pair of gloves in Adam Gilchrist, the fiery pace of Brett Lee and the ever- dependable Michael Bevan.

When Mark Waugh bolstered the slip cordon behind the wickets redefining the art of slip catching, his twin brother Steve Waugh had been there to lead from the front before Ricky Ponting’s aggressive outfit made them unconquerable. Mathew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Jason Gillespie – thanks to the selection board, this team had been inundated with legends.

As expected Australia went on to win their 2nd World Cup title, beating Pakistan in the final. I became curious to know more about this young bunch of outstanding cricketers. I turned the knob on my machine to 4.

2003 & 2007 ICC World Cup – Australia triumphs yet again

I landed somewhere in the cricket stadium in Port Elizabeth. The match between Australia and New Zealand at the 2003 ICC World Cup had been going on. I read the scoreboard – Aus 84-7.

“Is this the same Australian team of 2000’s? I just can’t believe this.” I nudged an Australian fan who was sitting beside me. But I was surprised to realize that there wasn’t a tinge of anxiety on his face. In fact, he was enjoying the match with a glass of beer.

“Dude, that guy is special. Really special. Not even the best in the world can cope with that,” he said, pointing a handsome and young Kiwi pacer who was wreaking havoc in the Australian batting order. He was mentioning the fast and furious, Shane Bond.

Bond was hostile, and the Aussie batsmen were dodging his deliveries just as if they were facing bullets. But Bond couldn’t wrap it up as his quota of 10 overs got completed by the end of the 30th over of the Australian innings. He wore his black cap and went back to his fielding position, leaving the debris to his bowling partners - like a male lion finishing his meal and going back to his den, leaving the rest to females.

But when your prey is a tiger, you just can’t tease apart the clutch until it’s sent to sleep forever. Australia rose from the gore with the resilient knocks of Michael Bevan and Andy Bichel and posted a mediocre total of 208. And what followed was an absolute display of high-quality fast bowling.

Lee and McGrath retaliated vehemently and ripped apart the Kiwi batting line-up and bundled out their brother nation for just 112 runs, granting Australia an incredible victory. Bond’s 6-23 became the 2nd best bowling figures in a losing cause.

I understood why the Aussie fan wasn’t showing any sign of anxiety. It’s because he knew that Australia was never a pushover. They had the players who were capable of changing the course of the game with breathtaking catches and stunning run-outs, at crucial junctures. I patted on his back for his immense confidence in his team.

“Well, the opposition can bruise them, but if you want a triumph over the mighty Aussies, make sure you fight till the last breath.” Confidence was exuding in his words.

And he was right. Australia went on to lift the World Cup quite effortlessly by beating India in the final after posting a mammoth total of 359-2 (the highest total in World Cup finals till date). It was the pre T-20 era, but Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn pummeled the Indian bowlers just as if they were playing against a local club side. It had been a walk in the park for the Aussies when their time came to field, and in the end they skittled out India for a score of 234.

Virtually they hadn’t had any weakness. They were potent against both pace and spin. Their home dominance was obviously spine-chilling, but they also did well in all other parts of the world. Beating Australia was considered to an honorable achievement while winning two matches in a row against them was next to impossible.

I jumped another 4 years. 2007 was a turning point in the history of Australian cricket. As expected, they won the World Cup, the 3rd consecutive time, but it also marked the end of the careers of two Australian legends, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. They left the field with quite a handful of records after regaining the Ashes urn which they lost in the epic 2005 Ashes series.

In fact, during the period of 1989 – 2007, 2005 was the only year in which Australia lost the Ashes, and that too after a hard fought battle against the likes of Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flintoff. Between October 1999 and November 2007 they played 93 tests and won a whopping 72 of them and drew 11. This sheds light on how competitive they were during this historic period.

Post McGrath-Warne era

McGrath and Warne retired after the 2007 Ashes series which Australia won 5-0

I moved on. I was actually fed up by watching and listening to the success stories of the men in yellow. I skipped another 6 years.

July 14, 2013, Trent Bridge - The final day of the first Ashes test between England and Australia. The visitors were chasing a 2nd innings total of 311 and were reduced to 201-6, thanks to the top class swing bowling of James Anderson. I could see the flurried faces of hundreds of Aussie fans and I didn’t hesitate to ask one among them the reason behind their anxiety.

“Hey, 110 runs with 4 wickets in hand. Australia has faced even tougher challenges in the past and has emerged victorious every single time. Is this gonna be a big deal?”

But he looked at me with tearful eyes. His heart was on his face and I could hear those prayers that he was enchanting in his mind. I realized, Australia isn’t the same as the past. Something has changed.

After McGrath and Warne decided to hang their boots, Australia tried hard to fill the shoes of these unparalleled legends. Brett Lee couldn’t maintain his brisk pace owing to injuries and eventually lost his form due to the lack of support from the other end. Shaun Tait & Nathan Bracken came in, but no one could seal their spot in the playing XI the way McGrath and Warne did.

Eventually, they lost the Ashes and were also unable to defend the World Cup in 2011. Matters went from bad to worse with the retirement of batting legends Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey which culminated in a 4-0 whitewash by India in the Border-Gavaskar series of 2013 held in India.

Most of the Aussies batsmen sweated in the sweltering sub-continent conditions while facing the alien spin of Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm orthodox bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. Adding to the worries of their fans, Australia eventually lost the Ashes, for the 3rd time in a row.

While their inexperienced batting line-up looked fragile, their bowling lacked penetration in overseas conditions. Mitchell Johnson was fast but wasn’t a match for the pace of Brett Lee. Spinners hadn’t had the dexterity of the great Shane Warne. Australia really missed the precision of McGrath and Gilly’s immaculate wicket-keeping.

The world thought Australian cricket had reached the brink of extermination. But I knew, nothing would stop Michael Clarke from fighting for the pride of his nation.

With his inherent competitiveness and inspirational leadership, Clarke brought things back for Australia. By demolishing England in the next Ashes with his ace in the hole - Johnson’s pace, Australia recorded only the third 5-0 Ashes clean sweep in history. They later thrashed the Proteas at their backyard and eventually regained the No 1 spot in Tests.

Just when Australia was getting back to its old might, Cricket Australia assented to a Test series against Pakistan in the UAE. The series turned out to be an eye-opener for the yellow unit. A team which looked indomitable on fast and bouncy pitches, struggled against the ‘home’ spinners Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah, on the slow turning tracks. Their fast bowling lacked penetration and spinners were unable to exploit the conditions. Pakistan dismantled them, quite effortlessly.

A new epoch

Michael Clarke and Steve Smith – The past and the future of Australian Cricket

Although they lost the series, they found someone who had the ability to take on spin bowling using his feet. It was indeed a miraculous transformation for Steven Smith – someone who stepped into the international scenario as a leg-spinner.

His incredible agility and reflexes coupled with splendid hand-eye-co-ordination has already made him one of the best batsmen of the modern era. His talent was indeed a great discovery as Australia found someone to lead the pack after Clarke. As usual George Bailey was seen smiling realizing the fact that someone else has run away with his bride.

And in 2015, after regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy from India, Australia became the World Champions for the fifth time. When Mitchell Starc destroyed their opponents with his fast and accurate swing bowling, Glenn Maxwell exploded on various occasions to grant their skipper Michael Clarke a fitting farewell from One Day Internationals.

But not even in the wildest of dreams Clarke would have thought that the Ashes 2015 in England would mark the end of his Test career. English pacers exposed the inefficacy of the Australian batsmen to play quality seam bowling in swinging England conditions. Even their best batsman Steve Smith struggled to find the middle of the bat when the ball started to nip around. Australia got humiliated by England, and Alastair Cook had his vengeance by regaining the urn.

Now it’s going to be the beginning of a new epoch.

Smith is all set to carry the legacy of the Australian Cricket. Despite his frailties with the moving kookaburra, he is the future of the island nation. He has a tough job of building and captaining a young and inexperienced team comprising of talented players like Josh Hazlewood, Starc, Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh. I hope he’ll do it as efficiently as his predecessors did and will bring back Australia to its old might.