 Domination of Australia in 2007
31st Dec 2007 19:00 IST
Manish Kumar
Ruthlessly professional and driven relentlessly by Ricky Ponting, Australia ruled the roost in cricket in the year 2007.
Retribution was brutal. After winning the Champions Trophy for the first time at the end of 2006, Australia regained the Ashes with a 5-0 series win over a demoralised England side at the start of 2007.
Australia's only blip was losing successive one-day series against England and New Zealand early in the year and not being able to win the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.
The fifth Ashes Test in Sydney became both a celebration and a farewell party for Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer.
Warne and McGrath, took 1271 Test wickets between them, and were by some distance the two most successful bowlers to play for Australia.
Warne revived the disappearing art of leg-spin bowling and by the time he left the Test arena for the last time with 708 wickets, he was acknowledged as the best wrist-spinner of all time.
McGrath, continued through the World Cup and won Man of the Tournament honours and his final Test haul of 563 was the best by a pace bowler.
Langer, who could play both aggressively and defensively, is best known for being Matthew Hayden's opening partner in Test matches – the pair that holds the title for being the most successful opening pair to open Test cricket as of the end of the 2006-07.
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