Australia starts the new millenium by riding high on the crest of international cricket. By climbing the twin-peaks of test as well as one-day cricket during the unbeaten Australian summer, Steve Waugh's triumphant boys have a genuine right to feel proud of their achievements. After all they defeated the one time's invincible Caribbeans 5-0 in a clean sweep to pack them home in tears. The Aussies reached the apex by achieving 15 Test match victories in a row, a record that might take a long time to beat.

The magnificent achievement shows how well balanced, proficient, strong, and in good form the Australians are at the present moment. Credit must also be given to Steve Waugh for leading the team from the front and the management for planning the strategy to humble one of the most fearsome outfits in the world. One must not feel jealous of the Australian triumph. They achieved it through sheer hard work, immaculate planning, unflinching courage and determination and the best of all, an excellent fighting spirit. They have in fact set an example for other test playing countries to emulate.

The Australians have landed in India to cement their claim as one of the greatest teams in sport's history. In recent years they defeated every major cricket-playing nation of the world, both home and away, but have not won a series in India since 1969. Skipper Steve Waugh feels that the Australian season was fantastic but if they do not win in India, much of what happened would not mean a lot. The record-breaking year will count for little if they did not achieve success in India. Waugh who achieved a personal milestone of being declared as Australia's `player of the year', made no secret of the fact that he considered the Indian series as the ultimate challenge of his side's test of greatness.

The 7 weeks tour that starts with a side match at Nagpur and includes 3 tests and 5 one-day internationals is expected to be an enjoyable on-field confrontation between the two sides. The Indians who have not lost a Test rubber to Australia on their home soil for the last 31 years are quite determined to maintain this distinction. Commenting on the Australian captain's aims and intentions, the Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly has warned Steve Waugh's all conquering Australians to expect a tough test series. Considering the Indian team fully capable of meeting the challenge, he claimed that his side would not be bowled over easily.

Ganguly's remarks that `they had it easily at home, but India would be a different proposition altogether' met with a sharp reaction from the Australian skipper who questioned, `does he mean that we only played weak sides to win our 15 test matches in a row?' Such tantrums or war of words meant to boost up one's own side and underrate the opponents is normal before the start of a series and need to be taken in good spirit.

With the giants of batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and others, India is not an easy side to beat on their own pitches. After the Pakistan team led by Imran Khan defeated them 1-0 in a 5 test series in 1988, they were routed by South Africa 2-0 only last year. A news appeared that to blunt the awesome Australian attack led by star bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and others and to ward off the fears of being bowled out twice, India's cricket chiefs have asked grounds men across the country to produce lifeless wickets.

Although a spokesman of the Mumbai Cricket Association hosting the 1st test insisted that the orders to prepare the slow pitches came from the Chairman of selectors Chandu Borde and Coach John Wright, both the officials denied having issued such instructions.

Both teams shall be contesting the series without one of their key bowlers. Australia's Brett Lee, a speed icon like our very own Shoaib Akhtar is not in the squad for being injured. Only three weeks back he bowled at a speed approaching 150 km in a match against the West Indies at Adelaide but later injured the medial ligament and flexor tendon of his elbow that rendered him unfit for the tour. While Glenn MacGrath will remain the spearhead of the Australian attack, the vacuum created by Lee's absence shall have to be filled by Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming.

India's leading spinner Anil Kumble will likewise miss the series to undergo surgery on a painful right shoulder. He is likely to be out of action for around four months. The absence of Kumble, the country's most successful spinner with 276 wickets in his bag, would be a major blow for the hosts who have generally depended on their strength in spin bowling. India tried seven of its promising spinners in a training camp and are likely to rely on Narvinder Harwani who represented the country more than a decade ago.

The modern technology seems to have taken over almost all fields of activity. For years we have watched the astronauts wearing the space suits on their missions. The high altitude mountain climbers also wore special suits to protect themselves from frostbite along with snow skiers, sailors and some other categories of sportsmen. The technology having made inroads in cricket also, the Australians are said to be carrying special ice vests to offset the adverse effects of excessive heat in some parts of India. Although the Aussies have conducted some trials on the magic vests one really wonders, how efficient would the ice vests be in a fluid game like cricket and how long would they keep the players cool in a 6-7 hours of play daily.

Although the season will be humming with cricket activity all over the world, the eyes of cricket fans shall remain focussed more on the world champions facing a tough challenge in India. How would the series end, time will only tell. One thing is, however, sure that while India is determined to give a tough fight to the visitors, there are absolutely no doubts about the overwhelming strength that the Aussies possess. If they have achieved the distinction of winning 15 consecutive test matches, they have done so through performance and no fluke. If they are number- one in the international ranking, the stats and figures have placed them there and not the print media.

The Australians have their next stop in England in late May 2001 to play the historical Ashes series. Considering the Aussies a wonderful team that is too hot for England to handle, the former England captain Tony Greig forecasts that, "England would be heading for a five-nil drubbing in the Ashes Test series this summer". He is pretty sure that England are going to have a dreadful time against the present Australian side with five-nil a distinct possibility.

With Australia's fantastic achievements during the last few years, they seem to be destined to rule the cricket world till a team from the opponents emerges as strong to hand them a series of defeats. They are enjoying the fruits of many years of hard labor in the field of cricket. The others have to learn from their system of organization, selection, training and the art of maintaining consistency in performance.

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