I'm sure many British cricket followers will be pleased that Australia was beaten 2 - 1 by South Africa, in the just concluded 3 test series in Australia, our first series loss on home soil in about 15 years. Despite what Neil (nhp651) may think, I am not a sore loser, but am full of admiration for a wonderful, young, South African team. We were comprehensively beaten in the first 2 tests, then won the third in a thrilling finish, with a brave Graham Smith attempting to stave off defeat by batting with a broken finger. He has also suffered from a bad elbow throughout the series, but still played outstandingly well to be named man of the series. South Africa have a marvellous side, full of young talent, tempered with some more experienced players, and will be tough opponents for anyone for many years to come.
Australia is struggling following the retirement of players such as Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Justin Langer, and Adam Gilchrist, however, the fact remains we were simply not good enough. We have some good fast bowlers such as Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger but, apart from Johnson, they are still gaining experience at the top level. Gilchrist and Warne, on the other hand, are almost irreplaceable. Gilly (a local hero, he comes from Lismore near here) was arguably the best wicket keeper / batsman ever to play cricket, and Shane Warne, love him or hate him, was probably the best leg spinner ever, Muttiah Muralitharan notwithstanding. I believe we will struggle to retain the Ashes in England this year, and while we remain Number 1, due to winning the 3rd test against South Africa, in reality I think we should only be ranked third, behind South Africa and India. We have a hard battle ahead of us to regain the dominance we have enjoyed over the last 10 or more years.
I'm sure the rest of the cricket world will be rejoicing.