Peter English

Cricket support in Australia has boomed over the past week

Graeme Smith came to Australia with a young team and bright hopes. He finished the Test series with a 2-0 loss, but was boosted by a number of strong performances that should benefit South Africa when they face the same opponents in March

This will always be Ricky Ponting's series. He captained Australia to a 2-0 victory, marked his 100th Test with twin centuries and took two individual awards

Ricky Ponting is like a child soapie actor who grew up with the world watching. He has been a fixture of Australian summer lounge rooms for so long that his walk towards cricketing middle age has come as a surprise

South Africa and Australia grudgingly admit common characteristics - sledging, playing hard and mostly fair, a desperate desire to win, more sledging - but that's where the conciliatory handshakes end

A qualified teacher who prefers delivering run-scoring lessons, Michael Hussey has elbowed his way into the side ahead of other stars

Peter English writes on Australia's resurgence after losing the Ashes