Australian Men’s Cricket Team: Dominance, Legends, and Controversies

The world’s second-most popular sport, cricket, originated in England. But if you were asked who had created a different legacy in cricket and showed a fighting spirit to win and never settle for something lesser, then what would be your answer? For me, the answer is quite obvious: the Australian Men’s Cricket Team. They created a next level in the cricket domain. But with good they also have the evils. And in this article we will try to understand those goods and evils about the Australian men’s cricket team. 

The History of Australian Cricket

In the mid-19th Century, Australian cricket started playing for international matches. While the time passed, cricket was not only just played as the leisurely time pass game, but it evolved as a national battle between the countries. People started cheering for their respective countries.  as the aggression in the crowd increased, the aggression in the playing of the players also increased. Their demand and need to win got increasing with the time. 

Australia’s participation in the first-ever Test match against England in 1877. Soon this match set the roots for one of the world’s most enduring rivalries, the Ashes Series. It’s played till now. And both teams try to show their dominance, and this is the reason here happens the world’s best test cricket. 

Some LEGENDS of Australia Men’s Cricket Team

The time when those legends who take this team to the top were a part of this team. Australia has something secret in their selection process because they choose the players with the best in aggression, playing and completing their task done exactly as the need of the team.  Some names of those legends are: 

Sir Donald Bradman: 

He is known as “The Don.” outstanding batting average of 99.94 is still impossible to achieve for a lot of youngster and the legends. It’s something that states that if he is on the field, then wicket can fall only on the second end. And he will remain there in the field until he makes his century at least. He got the nickname Don because of his personality and infinite aura. He was one of the most dangerous players that no bowler ever dreamed to face. His benchmark for excellence is still untouchable by players playing in their peak form.

Steve Waugh: 

Another name on the list is an outstanding leader. Waugh was famous for his aggression with strategic approach. As a captain, he filled his players with an approach of never say die. This attitude of his made the foundation in the future generations of Australian cricket that either you will win or you will fight till the last ball. 

Ricky Ponting: 

If you are talking about legends, no one can forget the name Ricky Ponting. The world’s most successful cricket captain of all time. He was the combination of aggression batting with tactical brilliance. Under his leadership, Australia won many ICC tournaments, including the World Cup. His reputation in modern-day cricket is still as one of the best captains. 

Glenn McGrath: 

Now, after talking about some legendary batsmen, let’s see some outstanding bowlers. Glenn McGrath bowling was as accurate as we fed data into the robot to pitch the bowl at that place with this speed and this much. Not a single doubt in my mind when I am saying him as one of the diamonds of the Australian Men’s cricket team. 

Shane Warne: 

You have often heard his name as the goat. Shane Warne spins the ball like a beyblade. He transformed the leg spin bowling as an art form. His tactical innovation and ability to bowl under pressure and turn the game into the Australian favor made him the greatest spin bowler of all time. Even after these many years, no one is comparable to this cricketing legend. He influenced the whole world, and a number of leg spinners were formed after him.

Dominance Proof

These wins are the proof that their aim is not only to participate but to win the title.

Darkest Chapters of Australian Men’s Cricket Team

With their hunger of winning at any cost grew some of the greatest controversy in the history of the cricket. Even there was a whole era when umpires in Australia rarely gave the decisions against them easily. Lots of clear decisions of out, umpire had given in the favor of Australian team saying out and not out as per their requirements.  

• The Underarm Bowling Incident (1981): In 1981, when there was a match between Australia and New Zealand, Australia needed to defend 6 runs in the last ball of that ODI. At that time, just for the win, the Australian captain said to the bowler to bowl an underarm, which was legal delivery that time, but not legal for fans. 
• The ball-tampering scandal (2018): This is the most heated controversy in the history of sports. Even you had heard about this, even if you are not a cricket fan. Australia did the shameful tactic to win the game and take a sandpaper from outside the ground to shine the ball and use a reverse swing. After this, all the players involved in this scandal were eliminated and banned from the team for some months. But even this hadn’t cured the reputation of Australian cricket. A lot of other black spots were on the face of the Australian cricket team. 

Conclusion 

In the end, I will like to conclude that playing against them is a nightmare for most of the teams. They never lose one single chance of winning. The team with most ICC titles, the team with some greatest legends. But with the pressure of maintaining the dominance and winning at any cost also did a lot of bad things with the cricket. The sandpaper got the title of the best cheaters in the world. They got the tag and still sometimes they have to face the title and revise those dark spots also. 

FAQs

Some questions regarding the Australian men’s cricket team are: 

1. Which team has the most ICC trophy in the history of cricket?

Australia’s Men’s cricket team is the most successful team with having 5 ICC world cups, while India has just 2. Shows the dominance of kangaroos in the world of cricket.

2. Australia’s trophies and wins except the World Cup?

Australia has a significance in modern-day cricket with two champions trophy, 1 world test championship trophy (out of two tournaments), 33 ashes series won against England.

3.  How Australian Men’s Cricket Team influenced cricket globally?

They played with aggression and fearlessly, and became the most dangerous sporting team. Their success is the result of innovative strategies, competitive spirit, and fight till the last ball of the game approach. These styles of playing influenced millions around the world to watch and play cricket.