Cracking up

I imagine that some of those Australians are feeling a little uncomfortable this morning. Of course, McGrath will still be feeling a little soreness in his ankle and the injury to his elbow won't help him look any less than the medium pacer who got belted around in the second innings at Old Trafford. Otherwise, the discomfort will largely be mental. Warne's been having a go at the groundsman (quite rightly, probably). Gilchrist (or his ghost) has written how he must do better. Langer has been writing about how great it has been to get away from it all. His article, in particular, seems quite revealing. It's all very well being relaxed on a golf course, but today must feel like judgement day to quite a few of those Australian players. It's not just the Ashes that are at stake. Their reputations are on the line. There have been quite a number of mutterings about their dominance over the past few years being due to the lack of quality in the rest of the teams around the world. Hayden, for example, who must have thought that he had booked his place amongst the greats, is suddenly being questioned. For such a big man, it must feel odd to be seen as one dimensional. I'm not sure about this idea that bowling around the world is weaker than it has been for a long time. West Indian batsmen during the eighties, for example, would only really need to get concerned about Imran, and perhaps Hadlee, whose record isn't as good as Pollock's is now anyway. There were no decent spinners back then, not really, certainly none as good as Muralitharan, Harbajan and Kumble. Still, Hayden did appear susceptible to extreme pace early in his career. Shoaib got him out a few times in the Australian summer, and at Old Trafford, Flintoff made him look very average. Is he starting to think that it might all be over? Is he reflecting on his career? It looks that way to me.
Apart from worrying about their reputations, a few of the players will be noticing Shaun Tait and wondering about their own futures. Gillespie, who is younger than most of them, may have played his last Test. What will happen if they do lose the Ashes? Will they replaced en masse? Certainly, questions will be asked.
Of course, Ponting could win the toss and, if the reports of a flat pitch are accurate, Australia could end the day at 350-2, and, if so, all will be well in their world again. Should the reverse happen however, the cracks in the Australian psyches will be widened. One Test under the cosh could be dismissed as an accident, a temporary blip. A second one, and the idea that the Australians are a team in decline may take hold in the heads of the players and become a self-fulfilling analysis. It's time to see what these Australians are really made of.