Ball 1
A guy on Tiktok declared Travis Head the best all-format player in the world at the moment.
It got me thinking about my rough list of the best Aussie men’s (Test) batter each decade. For the 2010s it’s Steve Smith, for the 2000s Ricky Ponting and so on - they tend to be all-time greats.
As we hurtle towards the sixth year of the 2020s, could it be that Travis Head is on top? Or is it Khawaja or Labuschagne? Or Smith again?
Pause, if you feel like it, and work out who you would pick.
Okay, here are the numbers:
There is no doubt: the clear leader is Usman Khawaja.
What a remarkable result this is: Khawaja was not selected for a Test match at all in the first 24 months of the decade, returned to the side for the fourth Test of the Ashes in January 2022 and scored a century in each innings, and is now in pole position to have his name added to a very prestigious list.
Will he still be on top come 31 December 2029? Will Head be? Or someone else?
Incidentally, I did the numbers for the other decades too - and here they are:
1870s Charles Bannerman
1880s Billy Murdoch
1890s Joe Darling
1900s Clem Hill
1910s Victor Trumper
1920s Charlie Macartney
1930s Don Bradman
1940s Don Bradman
1950s Neil Harvey
1960s Doug Walters
1970s Greg Chappell
1980s Allan Border
1990s Steve Waugh
2000s Ricky Ponting
2010s Steve Smith
2020s (so far) Usman Khawaja
Ball 2
In 1861 two entrepreneurs tried to get Charles Dickens to do a lecture tour of Australia. It fell through and so they brought out an England cricket side instead. The tour of 1861/62 was phenomenally successful as a financial venture. More tours took place in both directions and when Australia’s unexpected win over England in 1882 spawned the Ashes, one of the world’s great sporting rivalries ensued.
Sadly, the two nations have begun a second, far less storied series of matches. Until recently, any time the sides had met in one day cricket it had been either in a tournament or in the midst of a Test tour. But in 2010, with Australia set to play two Tests against Pakistan at neutral venues in England, the two cricket boards could not help themselves and scheduled a random series of five England-Australia ODIs. This, despite the fact that the teams had played a seven (7) match series at the end of the 2009 Ashes.
No doubt the crowds and ratings were good and money was made - but I had forgotten the series had even taken place.
Flushed with the financial windfall, more such series were then scheduled. Before you look at the list below - see if you can remember what years they took place and who won them? I bet you can’t.
So, I present: the random ODI Australia-England series:
The Golden Goose Trophy
2010 in England, 5 matches: England 3-2
2012 in England, 5 matches: England 4-0
2018 in England, 5 matches: England 5-0
2020 in England, 3 matches: Australia 2-1
2022/23 in Australia, 3 matches: Australia 3-0
2024 in England, 5 matches: Australia leads 2-1
In the early years England’s grip on the Goose was strong. But in the COVID series of 2020 Australia wrested it back and have held onto it ever since. The physical Goose itself never travels, of course - it remains in a small cabinet at ICC headquarters in Dubai.
Ball 3
The streak that no-one knew about has ended!
England’s win in the third ODI has snapped Australia’s winning streak off at 14: the third largest in men’s history, and, I would argue, one of the most improbable.
After losing the first two games of the World Cup and with Sri Lanka dominating the third, things looked grim for the Aussies. They turned things round, beating Sri Lanka, winning their subsequent eight World Cup games in a row, including the glorious win in the final against heavy favourite India; three home wins followed against West Indies (can you remember a single moment?) and then the fist two wins in England.
The record of 21 was also set by Australia - by the rampaging team of the early 2000s, which included their undefeated win in the 2003 World Cup. A challenge for you: can you name the eleven that took the field at the start of that streak - in Hobart after the 2002/03 Ashes? (Answer at the bottom).
Ball 4
Aaron Hardie’s name has been mentioned for many years as a player of the future. He underlined this potential in Australia’s loss to England in the third ODI with a powerful 44 from 26, before being run out. Batting at the death gave him a licence to swing, but even so, his strike rate of 169 was far higher than the other Aussies, with Glenn Maxwell’s strike rate of 120 in his innings of 30 being second highest.
Hardie then bowled five overs for figures of 0/26. No doubt his economy rate (5.2) would have increased if he had bowled at the death (rain stopped the game in the 38th over) but as it was, he had the highest batting strike rate and the lowest bowling economy rate across both sides.
Hardie was born in England, but grew up in Western Australia. He’s 25 and 1.93m (six foot four) and like most young quicks has had a number of injuries. Nevertheless, his first class figures are impressive (bowling average 28.5; batting 40.5) and intuitively I feel he is on the rise to the top - in all formats. It is the same feeling I had about Steve Waugh . . . although I’ve also had it for others who ended up going nowhere!
Ball 5
The Marsh Cup has begun - Australia’s men’s domestic one day tournament. In the old days it used to burst into life in October, as soon as the football seasons were over. Now, in an impossibly cramped schedule, it begins at the height of the nation’s rugby league/Aussie Rules obsession. The first two matches, on Sunday 22 September and Monday 23 September, were in Melbourne and Sydney but obviously not at the MCG and SCG. Instead, to absolutely ensure anonymity they took place at each city’s bespoke domestic cricket facility: the Junction Oval in Melbourne and Sydney’s ‘Cricket Central’ near Homebush (which you have never heard of).
That is cool. I understand why; I am not really complaining. As much as I miss the days when this tournament mattered I recognise that the Big Bash is - by miles - the best domestic tournament we have ever had.
Nevertheless, I cannot not help feeling a little nostalgic because, to the best of my imperfect memory, it is exactly forty years ago that one of my most cherished cricket memories was created.
The summer of 1983/84 had got me in to the sport in a big way. But in the long winter that followed (there was no television coverage of Australia’s 1984 tour of the West Indies) I had grown accustomed to watching rugby league - happily enough.
Saturday 13 October 1984 dawned like any other. Our television was on - but not being watched - when suddenly the familiar Wide World of Sports theme piqued my interest. To my mounting excitement, it segued into the familiar sound and green graphics of their cricket coverage. I knew it could not be cricket because summer was weeks away - and Nine also used such graphics for golf and tennis back then. But it was cricket! The familiar stumps appeared, with the batter slamming a straight drive . . . and then, Richie Benaud!
What a thrill! What joy! Summer was here; cricket was here! New South Wales weren’t playing but I could not have cared less: Queensland versus Victoria live from the Gabba would do just fine.
And while I am aware times have changed I do think cricket is missing out in not laying down a marker as soon as the NRL and AFL finish. Football fans have been used to month after month of watching their sides and are craving something to replace it. The WBBL in October is great, but I think there should be some big ticket men’s cricket on in Australia too.
Ball 6
The upcoming 5-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is at the forefront of my mind. I am hugely excited and interested and will be cheering on the Aussies hard. Sadly, being so invested in the result of a cricket series is becoming rarer. I still watch them all, but for many - most, in fact - it is hard to get too passionate about who wins.
As an exercise, I have gone through Australia’s men’s schedule for the next couple of years. I have put in bold the series where I will genuinely care about the result and left the rest in normal font. Do you agree? It will also double as a nice calendar for you if you need to get in early and decline wedding invitations and other events that clash!
Sep-Oct 2024: Remaining 2 ODIs v England, Away
Nov 2024: 3 ODIs, 3 T20s v Pakistan, Home
Nov-Dec 2024: 5 Tests v India, Home
Feb 2025: 2 Tests v Sri Lanka, Away
Feb-Mar 2025: ICC Champions Trophy ODI in Pakistan
Jun 2025: World Test Championship final v TBD, Lord’s
Jun-Jul 2025: 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20s v West Indies, Away
Aug 2025: 3 ODIs, 3 T20s v South Africa, Home
Oct 2025: 3 T20s v New Zealand, Away
Oct-Nov 2025: 3 ODIs, 5 T20s v India, Home
Dec 2025-Jan 2026: 5 Tests v England, Home
Feb 2026: 3 T20s v Pakistan, Away
Feb-Mar 2026: T20 World Cup, India and Sri Lanka
Mar 2026: 3 ODIs v Pakistan, Away
Jun 2026: 3 ODIs, 3 T20s v Bangladesh, Away
Aug 2026: 1 Test, 3 T20s v Afghanistan, Home
Sep-Oct 2026: 3 Tests, 3 ODIs v South Africa, Away
Nov-Dec 2026: 3 ODIs, 5 T20s v England, Home
Dec 2026-Jan 2027: 4 Tests v New Zealand, Home
Jan-Feb 2027: 5 Tests v India, Away
Mar 2027: 150th anniversary Test v England, Home; 2 Tests v Bangladesh, Away (TBD)
Australia’s side at the start of their 21 match ODI winning streak:
Gilchrist
Hayden
Ponting
Martyn
Bevan
Maher
Watson
Hogg
Bichel
Lee
McGrath