Australian side try and recover in time for the first game of Ashes series.
Cricket Australia officials have got their ban right for opening batsman David Warner, after his bizarre brain explosion at a Walkabout pub in Birmingham.
While banning him for the rest of the Champions Trophy campaign is not that big of a punishment, given the Australians form and the almost certain likelihood of not making it to the knock-out stages.
The fact his place for the first Test match has been put in severe doubt will hopefully be enough of a wake-up call.
Warner was fined and suspended for his fight with Joe Root in the early hours after the Australian’s loss to the English in the first round of the tournament.
In what was his second very public incident of off-field misbehavior in less than a month, and Cricket Australia were forced to take strong action.
The only thing more they could have done was send Warner home, where he would have had to face the media scrum that would have been 10-deep at Sydney airport.
All of this drama around the side has seen plenty of ex-English players coming out to gloat and Ian Botham has never been one to shy away from kicking an opponent while they were down.
But to suggest the English cricket side will go on to win the next two Ashes series 10-0 shows that he might be a couple of deliveries short of an over, if you know what I mean.
While the Australian’s lead-up to the first Ashes series has been average to say the least there is still plenty of talent in the current side if they can begin to fire at the same time.
Some scribes in England have dubbed the latest group to don the Baggy Green cap as the worst every sent out to their shores.
But I remember a similar label being thrown around in 1989, a year I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been expunged from English versions of Ashes’ records.
Let me refreshes your memories, Allan Border captained a bunch of misfits that were then labeled the worst ever, with the side featuring some random players called Ian Healy, Geoff Marsh, Dean Jones, Mark Taylor, Terry Alderman, Carl Rackerman and Steve Waugh.
Not sure how they went in 1989, I think a few of them made some runs, took a few wickets, and oh, won back the Ashes 4-0.
While it is true the current Australian side is not one of the best in recent years, that is only because the country is coming out of a golden era that will never be matched again in the Test match arena.
It’s tough to play in the shadow of McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist, Hayden, Langer and Ponting when it is still being cast over the cricketing landscape.
But the current side does have some class in its ranks.
Skipper Michael Clarke can be the most dangerous batsman in the longest form of the game if his health is right.
If you need more proof ask the Indian and South African bowling attacks he smashed to all parts of the ground during historic 2012 domestic season.
Brad Haddin has experience at the top level and has better hands behind the stumps than Matthew Wade, James Faulkner is an excellent young bowling all-rounder, while James Pattinson, Shane Watson and Nathan Lyon are just a few players who can turn the tide of the game.
But with 50 days worth of Test cricket to be played over the coming months, anything is possible.
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