Often, records are something players and teams like. They wear them like a crown when they are playing and probably look lovingly at them, like a war veteran would at his medals, when they are done. But over time you accumulate others, the thorns in the roses that you would like to hide but cannot ignore. Brian Lara knows all about this. For all his incandescence, nobody has lost more Test matches than he has and when his grandchildren sit on his lap, the thought, like a bad cavity, will remind him of its existence.

Now Australia have one too. In the last fifteen months they have failed to defend 320 plus scores four times (including that 434!) and on two other occasions have been saved by the skin of their teeth. The opposition now know that irrespective of the score Australia put up, they can be chased down, and that knowledge is critical.

Australia’s biggest strength over the years has been the aura around them, the awe they have generated in the opposition ranks. That wins more matches than any bowler or batsman can. But when a team says “hey, hang on, maybe we can” it takes the first step towards winning and now the world has taken that step. Their biggest weapon lies on the floor, disabled.

It’s a long time since an Australian captain has said he was “demoralised”. That is music to the opposition, because they now know that a new, hitherto unknown, word has been added to the Aussie vocabulary.

... contd.