“NOT since Australia’s darkest days in the mid ’80s has the Test team played so badly.
Has the national side which was so recently ranked number one in the world really fallen this far?
Australians are entitled to ask who is to blame?”
“It is hard to see where Australia’s next victory or Ponting’s next century is coming from.”
Malcolm Conn in The Australian.
“Australia’s Ashes hopes are in tatters after their last-day capitulation at the Adelaide Oval allowed England to take a crucial 1-0 series lead.”
Jesse Hogan in The Sydney Morning Herald
“Twice in five days, Australians have been beaten for a prize they somehow regarded as a birthright. The first was the right to host the 2022 soccer World Cup, and now Australia’s first defeat in a live Ashes Test in this country in 24 years is upon us. Forget the forecast: Australia must not pretend that a draw would be a result. Already, this is a moral defeat with all the force of a thrashing.”
“Some of the reaction to losing the World Cup bid was petty and high-handed. Football Federation of Australia board member Ron Walker said Australia was too honest to win it. Conveniently, he overlooked another recent international bidding competition, the Australian Wheat Board saga.
Those who claim the high moral ground need to have sure feet. Australia’s bid presentation was fronted by Paul Hogan, Elle Macpherson and Nicole Kidman. You might think that since they were holding up Australia as the greatest place on earth, at least one might live here. None do.
In her contribution, Prime Minister Julia Gillard gushed about the great passion of Australians for football. The truth, of course, is that Australia’s passion is divided between four football codes, and that although although has made meaningful ground, it captures the national imagination only at the time of big events.
Australia all but omitted to mention football in its presentation. We were shown to be naive and self-delusional.
So what will an Ashes eclipse on home soil teach us about ourselves? In two decades of almost continuous winning, we were not always generous. Ashes scorelines were said to reveal flaws in the English system and character, hinted at moral bankruptcy and social decay. Winning was written into Australia’s DNA. England bought it, hiring Australian players, coaches and administrators. We developed a superiority complex.”
“So, if as seems probable, Australia fail to reclaim the Ashes, will this country beat itself up about falling social standards, soft parenting, the failure of the education system, idle selectors and a flagging in our national vocation? Or will we acknowledge the starkly apparent, that the time has come for England to be better? It has more batsmen at the peak of their games.”
Make Time For Sports. 
Discussion
Comments are closed.