When India played, and beat, the West Indies in a one-day International at Berbice in Guyana (like Tunbridge Wells, Berbice is one of the shrines in our cricket mythology!), they surprised themselves and the cricketing world. It was like Columbus had found a new land, astronomers had discovered a new planet, like the Pythagoras theorem had been disproved. Then in the crucial first game at the World Cup of 1983, India did it again, not just because they suddenly became better players, but because they thought they could win.

Now Australia have been forced to react. Players have been pulled out of the Pura Cup final, Brett Lee’s scan has been postponed, they might well do it in the departure lounge with Stuart Clark waiting in his cab with his blazer in hand, and with Hayden and Symonds already there they will resemble an army returning from war rather than one embarking on a mission. Surely they must now ask Adam Gilchrist whether he is a family man first or an Australian cricketer. It is a cruel question to ask, but in times of strife the general must be with the troops, especially since Australia haven’t been the best side fighting back from a crisis. They are brilliant when they are frontrunners where, like Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, they seem to drain hope out of the opposition. But coming back? The evidence in recent times, especially at the Ashes, isn’t encouraging.

But teams become champions because they learn faster than anybody else. And that is why, in spite of the evidence above, I am willing to take a contrarian stance. If Australia had to stumble, this was the best time. If this had happened to them midway through the World Cup, they might have found it difficult to rally back, as they discovered during the World Cup of 1992 where they were tired and jaded. But now they know exactly where they stand three weeks before their first match. And while they will be hoping the doctors give them good news with Lee, Hayden and Symonds, they have time to introspect.

... contd.