Kangaroos in their own Marsupium.

Australia’s recent 4-0 drubbing at the hands of England would have raised many question marks in Michael Clarke’s mind. While England seemed to pull off this ‘unexpected’ result without breaking a sweat, the Aussies on the other hand were struggling in all three departments of the game. Mediocre bowling and an average batting performance ensured Australia were doled out their most comprehensive defeat in the last 40 years. This has once again given critics reason to doubt Australia’s current status as the No. 1 ODI side.

That this side was not in the league of the previous era under Ricky Ponting was obvious, but the manner in which it failed to compete in England – coming after a 2-2 result in the West Indies – clearly shows Clarke has worries on his plate. Pertinently, it was the younger crop of players such as Peter Forrest, George Bailey, Mathew Wade and Pat Cummins that did not make the most of their opportunities. The fact that experienced players like Shane Watson and David Hussey played way below the level of expectation was a big letdown.

The ‘dominant’ quotient is missing from Australia’s game; Brett Lee’s retirement will only hurt further. All this has once again heated up the debate as to whether Australia’s reign of dominance in world cricket coming to an end.

Cricket, like every other sport, has comprised of changes throughout its existence. There was a time when matches against Bangladesh were considered as net sessions for the teams, or when Zimbabwe was regularly capable enough to beat a top team. Today, we all know how both these sides fare up.

From the time of Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’ to the mighty West Indies of the late 70’s and 80’s, different teams have gone from strength to strength and vice-versa. Be it the 80’s era where a batsman’s worst nightmare was facing the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Patrick Patterson, Joel Garner and Michael Holding, or the period commencing from the later half of the 90’s where Australia, under Steve Waugh, created a world record of 16 Test wins in a row.

It is thus time that a younger crop of players rise up to the occasion to take place of the greats that have left etching behind a legacy that may not again be duplicated. Australia’s latest form, their performance and especially their bowling looks not even a shadow of what it was probably a decade ago. That side had a bowling force to reckon with. An attack spearheaded by McGrath, Lee, and Gillespie along side the spin of Shane Warne and Stuart McGill. When it came to batting, the lethal pair of Gilchrist and Waugh and Gilchrist and Hayden later, always ended up doing what a Boon and Marsh were capable of. Solidity in the middle with Ponting, Steve Waugh, Martyn never went in vain as Bevan always gave the finishing touches with ease.

But obviously, it was back then and this is now. The four-time world champions have suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of England in the 2010-11Ashes, an exit from the 2011 World cup at the hands of world champions India and now the England whitewash. Clearly, Australian cricket is on a set-back.

Amidst this entire crisis, skipper Clarke has had to bear the maximum brunt. I mean, lets face it. The Aussies have had a history of producing match-winning captains who have led from the front. The likes of Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting have been among the finest captains the game has ever seen. How long will it take Clarke to raise his bar to that level, or will he ever?

To some legends and professionals, it might not be even justified to add Clarke to that list. The 31-year old New South Wales batsman has been unimpressive in his outings with the bat. With that being a major criteria, his place is the side may also be questioned. A player cannot keep his place in the team just because of captaincy, which isn’t paying off. Be it in the form of the overall result or his individual performance.

I remember the Aussie period of domination from 2005-2007 (the downfall probably started with the CB Series defeat to India). Nine out of ten times, the men in yellow would have their hands raised in victory, batsmen would pick up wickets and tail-enders would end up scoring centuries (the likes of Jason Gillespie even score a Test double-century against Bangladesh). Such was the stature of a team like Australia, who would ruthlessly put up victories without too much of an effort. They would snatch out a piece of meat from a lion’s mouth, pull of miraculous victories in a game that was lost and fight till the last in a lost encounter.

A classic example is their defeat in Ashes 2005. An India-Australia match would be my worst nightmare, especially in a World Cup match. They just don’t seem to pack that punch anymore. The flair has gone missing.

Australia have a tough schedule ahead. They need to get things sorted-out before they host South Africa later this year and tour India next year for a competitive series. Their performance, especially their batting will have to come good if they expect to do well against both these teams. If anything has been learned from the scripts of cricket, that is to never count any one or any team out. Doesn’t matter if it’s home or abroad, or if the fat lady sings or not, a cricket lover would always like to see a team like Australia to do what they’re known for, demolish the opposition.