A contest at last

At last Australia got the Test contest they had long been craving when, on the opening day at the MCG, they lost nine wickets to India. It was hardly a huge rout but given Australia’s erstwhile dominance, it was enough to satisfy the fans.

Peter Roebuck casts an admiring glance at their captain Anil Kumble’s feats. Kumble took the first wicket and went on to grab five. In the Sydney Morning Herald, Roebuck writes:

Anil Kumble is an undiluted champion. Seldom have India needed his exceptional abilities more and seldom has he responded more impressively.

Steve Waugh, meanwhile, was mightily impressed with Matthew Hayden’s century on the opening day at the MCG on Boxing Day, saying in the the Sydney Telegraph that he now stands on the brink of historical greatness.

For a guy who was deemed to be too one-dimensional by selectors early in his career he now stands on the brink of being Australia's greatest-ever opener able to play in any conditions and to the tempo required.

In the same paper, Jon Pierik adds that questions were answered by the tourists, in front of a more-than-healthy 70,000-strong crowd.