Australia minus the arrogance

From Anand Kumar, India
There is something different about this Australian side which has landed in India. I am not speaking about the composition of the team or the skill of its players. I am referring to the attitude with which it has left its shores.

There is nothing new about new untested players in Australian squad. Ever since Damien Martyn retired, Australia has been dealing with a slow exodus of its colossus players and dealing very well. It is no stranger to seeing new players in their team trying to fill up big boots. The likes of Damien Martyn, Justin Langer, Glenn Mcgrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Brad Hogg, Stuart Macgill and Micheal Kasperowicz have gone out of reckoning in these last two years, some on their own terms and a few on selector's terms. And prior to that we of course had the Waugh brothers, Andrew Bichell, Paul Reifell and some more.

There has been a steady exodus happening in Australian cricket since the turn of this decade which has come to characterise them. In last 2 years, this exodus was massive but what happened along side was that every loss was equalled by some one else who came up and grabbed the opportunity. I am not trying to say that now there is panic in Australian dressing room and they have lost their sleep. But something is different.

Have a look at the things they have said in last few weeks. Micheal Hussey said Australian team is not yet settled for India (that was two weeks back). Any Australian would not have said anything like this even a year back. Matthew Hayden has said that he believes he will be the target and even went as far as to admitting that Harbhajan Singh will be quite a threat in the upcoming series. Even a year back, any Australian would have instead gone ahead and said that they will dominate the opponents lynch pin. Ricky Ponting while trying to egg on Jason Krejza could not muster anything more than saying that he spins the ball a long way. Does he spin it more than Murali, I am sure not and if spins even close to him, why didn't we hear more about him before? Uni-dimensional spin alone is not going to pose any problem for Indians. What has caused this uncertainty in Australian minds? Challenges are not new to them. Well, we will never know. It can be anything.

May be they have hard done by the sudden departure of both Brad Hogg and Stuart McGill. A trip to India with spinners even they have heard less about would have been a humbling experience. Probably, they understand that there has not been one really exciting player they have produced in two years or so and that is worrying. Or perhaps, all that happened in last summer down under has actually shook them.

The captain had been one of those hit the hardest. But most unsettling must have been Symonds' absece from the team. He was a vital cog and is out of the team for non-cricketing, non-fitness and non-doping issues. This might be commonplace in Pakistan but not in Australia. What is clear to me is that this team has come with an undercurrent which is very un-Australian. They are not missing 'Australian ability' as much as they are missing 'Australian arrogance'. And that in the end may be their undoing.