Brijesh I liked your thoughts but I am afraid I have to differ on subtle points. To me this present Australian Team is one of the greatest teams in Sports History. This team has been consistently demolishing opponents and they taste defeat once in 15 to 20 ODIs. Thats a remarkable winning rate. You name any other team which comes close - then I would agree this team is not the greatest. No matter what their middle overs score is, eventually they end up scoring 300 plus and that really puts a mental block and pressure straightaway on teh opposition. To me these are the reasons for their success. 1) Every body's place in the team is not at all guaranteed. There are hundres of Pontings, Gilchrists and etc are just waiting at the doorstep to play cricket for Australia. 2) Cricket Australia doesn't wait for an occassional SRT or RD or SG to walk the planet. On the contrary they manufacture allround cricketers by recruiting them very young. 3) Everyone chosen to wear the "baggy green" are extremely patriotic and exhibit total alround professionalism. As such Australia is fiercely sports crazy nation in hockey, cricket, swimming, Tennis, Soccer and etc. 4) None of the cricketers playing for the national team has a heroic status back home in Australia. The crowd is very mature and treat tem as rest of the citizenry and they don't put undue pressure on them to perform. 5) The Australian Team plays perfectly well as a team rather than depending on few individuals. Ea
