Is Australian cricket all about the Ashes now?

Marshland

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Are Australia soon going to be like how England were in the barren years - ODI's do not matter because they ain't tests, and every other test series is one "to prepare for the Ashes"?

Will they enter world tournaments with their eyes fixed on the Ashes, like England did with the Champions Trophy 2006, the Wt20 2009, etc.?
 

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Santana

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#2
Unfortunately yes, just look at the “Your team for the Ashes” thread just made yesterday (and that’s not the only one). The Ashes are over a year away people. We’ve got 3 big test series before that and more than a few ODI series.

We’ve become like the English in recent times with an unhealthy obsession with one test series, and it’s pretty sad. There’s way more to cricket than the Ashes.
 

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No. Only seems that way because England are the number one Test team and it's what we are aiming for.

Once another team is up there (South Africa?) then things will change again.

EDIT: South Africa seem to be equal on points, but my point remains.
 

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#4
What evidence is this thread based on?

Surely not just because someone started a prediction thread on bigfooty...
 

frankrizzo

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In fairness it's an unusual situation having back to back ashes series, we have 10 tests against the world number 1 team in the next 18 months, it's not odd that's our focus but is odd anybody would think it isn't or shouldn't be the main focus.

England are the one team in world cricket that basically have a complete stranglehold on our team(and our senior batsman in particular) it's the aussie way to focus on the guys we can't beat right now and more so when it's our old enemy.
 

Marshland

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No. Only seems that way because England are the number one Test team and it's what we are aiming for.
Sorry, but I don't buy into this argument. :thumbsdown:

If South Africa pummel England in the coming English home summer, are you suggesting that our hunger for the Ashes series in 2013 will decrease, and we will be looking at the Saffers as the team to dethrone instead? Will we see threads popping up such as "Your team for the South African series...." a couple of years in advance?

What evidence is this thread based on?

Surely not just because someone started a prediction thread on bigfooty...
Well, that was the thread which got me thinking, yes. But you gotta admit that there are several of those threads created week in and week out, as another user above just said.
 

dajesmac

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#7
Fair enough, but it sounds like you're suggesting the nature of the cricket board on bigfooty is indicative of the mindset of the actual team.

I agree that this approach would be a silly one, however I see no reason to be concerned as there is no indication that the actual Australian cricket team isn't taking it one series at a time.
 

Carbine Chaos

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#8
Sorry, but I don't buy into this argument. :thumbsdown:

If South Africa pummel England in the coming English home summer, are you suggesting that our hunger for the Ashes series in 2013 will decrease, and we will be looking at the Saffers as the team to dethrone instead? Will we see threads popping up such as "Your team for the South African series...." a couple of years in advance?
Well, kinda. The fact that England have failed to proceed and dominate world cricket since thrashing us down under (as many thought would be the case) kind of diminishes the significance a series win over them would hold.
 

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#10
The media build it up, because the Ashes is all the non-cricket fans understand. It fits into our 'Beat the Poms at Everything!' mantra that becomes embarassing in many, many instances.

Remember the Media (Channel 9 in this case) don't care about cricket fans - we are going to watch, however they butcher the coverage. They are always trying to increase the 'casual' audience. More money for ads.

And if you look at current TV in Australia (indeed around the world) what sells is reality TV, where we create celebrities. In this case, the celebrity is the England Cricket team - we all have to hate them. The Poms are worse at it - every cricket article, tv report or match summary has the 'How does this affect the Upcoming Ashes?' angle.

It's basically taking a lead from Professional Wrestling. Create characters and stories to generate interest in the games. So far, we haven't gone to the final, irreversible step of manipulating the games as well.

In real cricket terms, it's meaningless.
 

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#12
I'm a cricket tragic, and even if Australia was playing Bangladesh, I would watch every ball if I could.

Overall, I think Australia gets really excited by the Ashes...it does create a great buzz!
 

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The Ashes are the biggest event on Australia's international calendar. All else being equal, it's natural that it gets the most attention and focus. The only reason it didn't get as much attention in the 90s and early 00s is simply due to how completely uncompetitive it was.

Test cricket isn't like other sports. The rankings are pretty much meaningless. People are interested in the series with the most history, and the toughest competition. At the moment, the Ashes ticks both those boxes.
 

Marshland

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Test cricket isn't like other sports. The rankings are pretty much meaningless. People are interested in the series with the most history, and the toughest competition. At the moment, the Ashes ticks both those boxes.
Er.....not since the last couple of years or so. When Australia were irreplacable at the top maybe.
 

Caesar

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Er.....not since the last couple of years or so. When Australia were irreplacable at the top maybe.
Of course they're meaningless. When sides play only 12 matches a year against 3 or 4 opponents then it's pretty hard for the rankings to be a meaningful representation of who the best team is at any point in time.

Plus, unlike other sports, the rankings don't serve any real purpose. There are no tournaments to be seeded into. There is no advantage to being ranked 2nd compared to the team ranked 3rd.

99 out of 100 cricket fans couldn't tell you what effect winning a series will have on their country's Test ranking. Why? Because it doesn't matter and nobody cares.

They won't be when/if the Test championship comes in.
Well yes, if that comes in then it will have a purpose. But I doubt it will ever happen. A Test tournament wouldn't be much of a moneymaker compared to whichever set of fixtures would have to make way for it.
 

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#18
It's more a media thing than CA. Yes there is talk from CA about it, partly because they know that there are going to be a few players to either be pushed out by then or retire immediately after the home series. By the time the Ashes series in 2013-14 here finishes there will of been a full generational change in the side and we must not lose focus on that.

We slipped in the rankings because we never properly planned what would happen when Hayden, Gilly and co retired. if we don't learn from that leason then we could have another period like the mid 80s and no-one wants that.
 

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#19
It's more a media thing than CA. Yes there is talk from CA about it, partly because they know that there are going to be a few players to either be pushed out by then or retire immediately after the home series. By the time the Ashes series in 2013-14 here finishes there will of been a full generational change in the side and we must not lose focus on that.

We slipped in the rankings because we never properly planned what would happen when Hayden, Gilly and co retired. if we don't learn from that leason then we could have another period like the mid 80s and no-one wants that.
I never understand this argument. We aren't Manchester United, we can't just outbid everyone else for the best players around..

We have never had a spin bowler even close to being like Shane Warne before, you can't plan for that sort of player.

We lost extraordinary talent and at present, we don't have anything to match that. It's not a case of planning, it's just the way sport cycles.

If the Aussie team was easily able to replace McGrath, Warne and Gilly then they wouldn't have been special. And they really, really were.
 
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#20
It's more a media thing than CA. Yes there is talk from CA about it, partly because they know that there are going to be a few players to either be pushed out by then or retire immediately after the home series. By the time the Ashes series in 2013-14 here finishes there will of been a full generational change in the side and we must not lose focus on that.

We slipped in the rankings because we never properly planned what would happen when Hayden, Gilly and co retired. if we don't learn from that leason then we could have another period like the mid 80s and no-one wants that.
That's over simplified a bit. The mid 80s was a shit time in Australian test cricket for a number of factors:

- The Packer vs Australian cricket board hangover.

- A leadership vacuum because Greg Chappell decided to do whatever he wanted and left Kim Hughes in the lurch.

- We played the WIs every second series and they smashed us constantly.

I'd actually suggest that the player losses we've had recently have been much worse than in the 80s, but we've dealt with them really well.

In 1984 G. Chappell, Lillee and Marsh all retired together. Chappell was waning, but could still have great innings, Lillee was in serious decline, and Marsh was a handy keeper batsman who was slightly overrated in my opinion.

Our recent losses were Hayden, Langer, Martyn, Gilchrist, Warne, Gillespie and McGrath, yet we still haven't been smashed in a series since then.

And we have seen Clarke's leadership is solid, good signs from Warner (although he needs to push on beyond 40), a good spinner in Lyon, and an enviable young pace battery. The one thing lacking is young batsmen dominating, but it'll come I reckon.
 

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#21
That's over simplified a bit. The mid 80s was a shit time in Australian test cricket for a number of factors:

- The Packer vs Australian cricket board hangover.

- A leadership vacuum because Greg Chappell decided to do whatever he wanted and left Kim Hughes in the lurch.

- We played the WIs every second series and they smashed us constantly.

I'd actually suggest that the player losses we've had recently have been much worse than in the 80s, but we've dealt with them really well.

In 1984 G. Chappell, Lillee and Marsh all retired together. Chappell was waning, but could still have great innings, Lillee was in serious decline, and Marsh was a handy keeper batsman who was slightly overrated in my opinion.

Our recent losses were Hayden, Langer, Martyn, Gilchrist, Warne, Gillespie and McGrath, yet we still haven't been smashed in a series since then.

And we have seen Clarke's leadership is solid, good signs from Warner (although he needs to push on beyond 40), a good spinner in Lyon, and an enviable young pace battery. The one thing lacking is young batsmen dominating, but it'll come I reckon.
Excellent post.
 

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#22
Sorry, but I don't buy into this argument. :thumbsdown:

If South Africa pummel England in the coming English home summer, are you suggesting that our hunger for the Ashes series in 2013 will decrease, and we will be looking at the Saffers as the team to dethrone instead? Will we see threads popping up such as "Your team for the South African series...." a couple of years in advance?
Sooner! Saffers out here are next up for us.
 

ltdamn

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#23
It's been about the Ashes for 100 odd years. Between 87 and 05 people just got interested in other series amd ODI's because it wasn't competitive.

Cricket is about the Ashes. It's the history of the game.
 

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#24
It's been about the Ashes for 100 odd years. Between 87 and 05 people just got interested in other series amd ODI's because it wasn't competitive.

Cricket is about the Ashes. It's the history of the game.
Not quite. Test match series in the 70s against the West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and India were fantastic with the great WI sides and the great players like Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee.

The Ashes may still have been the highlight but I went to the WACA and sat among some massive crowds for games that involved many other teams than England.
 

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#25
It's been about the Ashes for 100 odd years. Between 87 and 05 people just got interested in other series amd ODI's because it wasn't competitive.

Cricket is about the Ashes. It's the history of the game.
Perhaps you could word that a bit differently. There are more than 2 test playing nations after all.
 
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